Apparatus and method for accessing wireless network

ABSTRACT

A method of using subscriber identification information stored in mobile user equipment (UE) to connect to a communication service over a public wireless network in the UE, establishing a communication link between the UE and a device, generating network access information (NAI) associated with the communication service in the UE, and sending the NAI from the UE to the device via the communication link. The method further comprises connecting the communication service in the device using the NAI and terminating the connection of the communication service in the UE.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S.Provisional Patent No. 61/992,525 filed on May 13, 2014, and KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2015-0021177 filed on Feb. 11, 2015, thesubject matters of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the inventive concept relate generally to apparatuses andmethods capable of accessing a wireless network. More particularly,certain embodiments of the inventive concept relate to semiconductordevices, Systems-on-Chip and user equipment (UE) capable of accessing awireless network and transferring related net access information (NAI)to other devices. Certain other embodiments of the inventive conceptrelate to methods enabling (or facilitating) access by a device to awireless network and transferring related NAI to other devices.

A wireless network is system of inter-operated components that enable(or support) one or more wireless communication service(s) between twoor more devices. The request for, registration of, identification of,use of, and termination of a wireless communication service is acomplicated process involving multiple wireless-capable devices, as wellas wireless components (e.g., base station(s), servers, radio channelequipment, mobility management equipment, software resources, etc.)associated with a wireless network. Under certain circumstances, limitedresources within a wireless network may restrict the number users and/orquality of service for users seeking access one to wirelesscommunication service(s).

A number of public wireless networks (PWN), such as those establishedand maintained by mobile phone companies, mobile wireless broadbandsystems, and/or satellite systems, which are each capable of providingcommunication services based on cellular communication protocol(s) areexamples of contemporary wireless networks. Each PWN restricts access toits offered communication services to authorized UE. Hence, authorizedUE may be considered a subscriber terminal by the PWN, and a serviceprovider that manages and operates the PWN may provide subscriberidentification information (SII) to respective subscriber terminals.Thereafter, the SII may be used by the subscriber terminals to establishauthorized access to the PWN.

The SII may be stored in a subscriber identification module (SIM) thatis built in, or may be inserted/de-inserted (e.g., in the form of aso-called “SIM card”) into a subscriber terminal. Data associated SIIand related subscriber terminal information stored on the SIM may beprotected using one or more data encryption methods. The subscriberterminal may use or access the communication services over the PWN usingthe SII stored in the SIM.

In electronic and communication industries, various attempts have beenmade to produce UE equipped with wired/wireless communication functions.One example is the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) or Internet ofEverything (IoE). IoT or IoE refers to an environment where the thingsof everyday life are connected via a wired/wireless network in order toshare information. Hence, the IoT or IoE approach may be used to connectdevices over the network allowing them to share information across avariety of technical fields including smart home appliances, smart homes(e.g., remote metering, heating/cooling management, home solar systems,home security systems) healthcare, and smart cars.

Increasingly, a subscriber may desire to access the PWN using not just asingle fixed UE, but a variety of UE, including mobile UE. Thus, incertain instances, the subscriber may be required to remove a SIM from afirst UE that has access to the PWN and insert the SIM in a second UE sothat the second UE may have access to the PWN. This process is laborintensive, there is no continuity in data use, and more than one UEcannot access the PWN at the same time using the same SII.

In some instances, the subscriber may purchase a SIM, however and inwhatever form provided, for each UE. This incurs extra cost for each SIMpurchased, there is a de-synchronization between different UE that maycause data/communication loss, and each UE may have a different wirelesscapability.

A subscriber may desire to access (e.g., upload data to and downloaddata from) the PWN through a variety of UE at the same time without theneed of purchasing a separate SIM for each UE. In other words, onesubscriber may desire to freely access one or more PWN using one or moreUE at the same time, using one set of SII. Accordingly, there is ageneral need for an apparatus and method to allow a subscriber to freelyaccess a PWN using multiple UE.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the inventive concept, a method comprises usingsubscriber identification information (SII) stored in a master device toconnect to a communication service over a public wireless network (PWN)in the master device, establishing a communication link between themaster device and a slave device, generating network access information(NAI) associated with the communication service in the master device,and sending the NAI from the master device to the slave device via thecommunication link.

In another embodiment of the inventive concept, a method comprisesconnecting a communication service in a master device storing the accessauthorization credentials, generating network status information (NSI)in the master device associated with the connecting of the communicationservice, deriving NAI in the master device from the authorizationcredentials and the NSI, establishing a communication link between themaster device and slave device, sending the NAI from the master deviceto the slave device via the communication link, connecting thecommunication service in the slave device using the NAI, and terminatingthe communication service in the master device.

In yet another embodiment of the inventive concept, a method comprisesconnecting a first communication service in a first master devicestoring first access authorization credentials, generating first networkstatus information (1NSI) in the first master device associated with theconnecting of the first communication service, deriving first networkingaccessing information (1NAI) from the first access authorizationcredentials and the 1NSI, establishing a first communication linkbetween the first master device and slave device, sending the 1NAI fromthe first master device to the slave device via the first communicationlink and storing the 1NAI in the slave device, completing the sameprocess with the second master device and 2NAI with the secondcommunication link, connecting the first communication service in theslave device using the 1NAI, and terminating the first communicationservice in the first master device.

In yet another embodiment of the inventive concept, a method comprisesusing SII stored in a master device to connect to a communicationservice over a PWN in the master device, establishing a communicationlink between the master device and the slave device, sending NAIassociated with the communication service from the master device to theslave device via the communication link, connecting the communicationservice in the slave device using the NAI, terminating the connection ofthe communication service in the master device, sending a releaserequest from the master device to the slave device via the communicationlink requesting the slave device to release connection of thecommunication service, and in response to the release request,terminating the communication service in the slave device andre-connecting the communication service in the master device.

In yet another embodiment of the inventive concept, a mobile userequipment comprises a memory that stores software components, anapplication processor that controls operation of the user equipment, aconnectivity unit that establishes a communication link between the userequipment and a device, and a communication processor that connects acommunication service over a PWN.

These and other embodiments of the inventive concept can support avariety of user equipment in accessing a wireless network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Several embodiments of the inventive concept are illustrated by way ofexample.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram generally illustrating a wirelesscommunication environment according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept.

FIG. 2 is a table listing examples of possible components of networkaccess information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a network environment accordingto an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram further illustrating in one example userequipment according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram further illustrating in one example a programmodule according to certain embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating in one example variousconnections between multiple user equipment (UE) and a public wirelessnetwork according to certain embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating certain components of a masterdevice according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating certain components of a slavedevice according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart summarizing a control flow in a master deviceaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart summarizing a control flow in a slave deviceaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 11 is an operational diagram illustrating a call processingprocedure that may be used in conjunction with certain embodiments ofthe inventive concept.

FIG. 12 is a general flowchart summarizing a control flow in a basestation according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D and 13E are block diagrams respectivelyillustrating components of user equipment according to variousembodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating in one example a protocolstack that may be used in conjunction with user equipment according tovarious embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating in one example an M2Mmobile state transfer protocol via the mobile state transfer layer thatmay be used in conjunction with certain embodiments of the inventiveconcept.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating various examples of controland data planes of a slave device operating in stand-alone mode verses arelay mode.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating in one example a M2M mobilestate transfer protocol 1700 via the mobile state transfer layeraccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C are respective examples of control and dataplanes of a slave device 1820 operating in stand-alone mode and relaymode in accordance with certain embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of implementation in which one NAI isshared by multiple devices according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates examples of various implementations according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 illustrates a network structure in which an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 22 illustrates the effects expected by an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 23A and 23B illustrate an example of an IoT system according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 illustrates an appearance of a smart watch as an example of anIoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a configuration of an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26 illustrates another example of a configuration of an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27 conceptually illustrates the hardware (HW) and software (SW)structure of an IoT device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 28 illustrates examples of services that utilize an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the IoTdevice will be assumed as a wearable IoT device.

FIG. 29 illustrates examples of services that utilize IoT devicesaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 30 schematically illustrates a package of an IoT device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments of the inventive concept will now be described insome additional detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Theinventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as being limited to only the illustratedembodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey theconcept of example embodiments to those of ordinary skill in the art.Throughout the written description and drawings, like reference numbersand labels are used to denote like or similar elements.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyconnected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are nointervening elements present. As used herein the term “and/or” includesany and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.Other words used to describe the relationship between elements or layersshould be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus“directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” “on” versus“directly on”).

It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layersand/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms areonly used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus,a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed belowcould be termed a second element, component, region, layer or sectionwithout departing from the teachings of example embodiments.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exampleembodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and/or “including,” if usedherein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presenceor addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments of theinventive concepts belong. It will be further understood that terms,such as those defined in commonly-used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

The described embodiments relate generally to supporting connection ofuser equipment (UE) to a wireless network. For example, in certainembodiments a master device may send network access information (NAI) toa slave device in order to connect a communication service in the slavedevice using the NAI.

UE according to various embodiments of the inventive concept may referto a device that is assembled to include electronic components, elementsand the like, making it possible to support communication services bypredetermined communication resources. For example, UE may includecomponents needed to establish a communication service with another UEor to acquire access to a public wireless network. Such components maybe variously implemented in hardware, firmware and/or software.

In certain embodiments of the inventive concept, UE may be functionallyand/or physically implemented as a smart phone, tablet Personal Computer(PC), mobile phone, video phone, e-book reader, desktop PC, laptop PC,netbook computer, workstation, server, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), MP3 player, mobile medical device,camera, wearable device (e.g., electronic eyeglasses,Head-Mounted-Device (HMD), electronic cloth, electronic bracelet,electronic necklace, electronic accessory (or appcessory), electronictattoo, smart mirror, or smart watch).

In other embodiments of the inventive concept, UE may be implemented aspart of a smart home appliance. Smart home appliance may include, forexample, a television (TV), Digital Video Disk (DVD) player, Blu-rayplayer, audio device, refrigerator, air conditioner, thermostat, vacuumcleaner, oven, microwave oven, washer, air purifier, set-top box, homeautomation control panel, security control panel, TV box (e.g., SamsungHomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), game consoles (e.g., Xbox™ orPlayStation™), electronic dictionary, electronic key, camcorder, orelectronic picture frame.

In certain embodiments of the inventive concept, UE may be implementedas a medical device (e.g., portable medical measuring devices such as ablood glucose meter, heart rate meter, blood pressure meter, bodytemperature meter, Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA), MagneticResonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), medical camcorder,ultrasonic device, etc. In certain embodiments of the inventive concept,UE may be implemented as a navigation device, Global Positioning System(GPS) receiver, Event Data Recorder (EDR), Flight Data Recorder (FDR),car infotainment device, marine electronic equipment (e.g., a marinenavigation system, a gyro compass, and the like), avionics, securityequipment, car head unit, industrial or domestic robot, AutomaticTeller's Machine (ATM), Point of Sales (POS) devices, an IoT device(e.g., a light bulb, various sensors associated with an electricity orgas meter, sprinkler system, fire alarm, thermostat, street lamp,toaster, fitness equipment, hot water tank, heater, boiler, etc.), andthe like.

In certain embodiments of the inventive concept, UE may be implementedas part of furniture or a building structure. UE according to variousembodiments of the inventive concept may be any one or a combination ofthe above-described devices and systems.

Alternatively, UE according to certain embodiments of the inventiveconcept may be a flexible UE. Thus, it will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art that UE according to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure is not limited to the above-described devices,and may include new UE that may be provided with the development oftechnologies.

UE according to various embodiments will now be described with referenceto accompanying drawings. The term ‘user’ as used herein may refer tothe person who uses the UE, or the device (e.g., artificial intelligenceUE) that uses the UE. The term ‘subscriber’ as used herein may refer toa user of communication services provided over a PWN where the user isuniquely assigned SII.

Figure (FIG.) 1 is a block diagram illustrating in one example awireless communication environment according to various embodiments ofthe inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 1, a master device 110 and a slave device 120 may beconnected by an interface 130. The interface may be hardwired-based orwireless-based and may be a communication path between the master device110 and the slave device 120. The communication path may form acommunication link. The interface 130 is not limited to a particularcommunication scheme. For example, the interface 130 may be implementedbased on at least one protocol for wired communication and/or wirelesscommunication. The communication link may include one or more of a localarea network (LAN), Wi-Fi, near field communication (NFC), radiofrequency (RF), wired communication, cellular link, Bluetooth (BT),global positioning system (GPS), cable, infrared link, Internet, longterm evolution (LTE), and WiMax.

The master device 110 and the slave device 120 may connect to acommunication service over a public wireless network (PWN) 140. Themaster device 110 may be a portable UE. The communication service may bea cellular voice/data service. Connecting of the cellular voice/dataservice in the portable UE may include registering the portable UE witha mobility management entity (MME) of the PWN 140. The PWN 140 mayprovide wireless communication services based on one or more of LTE,LTE-advanced (LTE-A), code division multiple access (CDMA), widebandCDMA (WCDMA), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS),wireless broadband (WiBro), or global system for mobile communication(GSM).

The master device 110 is a subscriber terminal authorized to access thePWN 140, whereas the slave device 120 is subscriber terminal that is notinherently authorized to access the PWN 140. For example, in certainembodiments of the inventive concept, since the slave device 120 lacksthe NAI required to access the PWN 140—because it does not have aconnected subscriber identification module (SIM) providing the necessarysubscriber identification information (SII)—it may not obtain access tothe PWN 140 until a SIM is connected.

However, in certain embodiments of the inventive concept, the masterdevice 110 is capable of both (1) using internally stored SII (e.g., SIIstored in a connected SIM) to generate NAI sufficient to connect acommunication service in the master device 110 over the PWN 140, and (2)transferring the generated NAI associated with the communication serviceto the slave device 120 via the communication link. The slave device 120may thereafter use the NAI to connect to the communication service inthe slave device 120 over the PWN 140. Once the communication service isconnected in the slave device 120, the communication service in themaster device 110 is terminated. One possible relationship between SIIand corresponding NAI is shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a table listing possible components of network accessinformation (NAI) in the context of certain embodiments of the inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIG. 2, the NAI 210 may include one or more components ofSII 220 and one or more components of network status information (NSI)230. Hence a descriptive reference to NAI 210 hereafter may refer to oneor more components of SII 220 and/or one or more components of NSI 230.In this regard, the SII 220 is stored in SIM even when the UE is poweredoff. The PWN 140 requests the SII 220 to verify whether the user is asubscriber or not. All information used to access the PWN 140 and storedin the SIM is SII 220. The SII 220 may comprise partial SIM information.Further, as previously noted, the SIM may be stored on a SIM card thatis configured to be physically inserted into and thereafter removed fromthe master device 110. A slave device 120 may not have a SIM card. Theinformation recorded in a SIM may be protected by encryption or thelike. The master device 110 may read and use the SII 220 stored on a SIMconnected to the master device 110 in order to connect the communicationservice over the PWN 140. The SII 220 may comprise a plurality of SIIcomponents and the NAI 210 may comprise at least one of the plurality ofSII components or information derived from at least one of the pluralityof SII components

The SII 220 may include one or more of international mobile subscriberidentity (IMSI) 221, temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) 223,integrated circuit card identification (ICCID) 225, master key (K) 227,and globally unique temporary identifier (GUTI) 229. The SIM may alsostore local area identity (LAI), operator-specific emergency number,short message service center (SMSC) number, service provider name (SPN),service dialing numbers (SDN), advice-of-charge parameters, and valueadded service (VAS) applications.

The IMSI 221 is an example of SII 220 and may be stored in the SIM whenthe SIM is purchased. The IMSI 221 is used to identify the subscriber ofthe PWN 140. The same value for the IMSI 221 may be stored in the SII220 and on the PWN 140. The IMSI is rarely used except for certaininstances (e.g., when the phone is switched on).

The TMSI 223 is used instead of IMSI 221 for security reasons. The TMSI223 is provided to the master device 110 from the PWN 140 uponconnecting the communication service in the master device 110. The TMSI223 is changed by the PWN 140 from time to time.

The ICCID 225 is an example of unique identification information and isused to identify the SIM. The K 227 is a master key for authenticationand the same value may be stored in the SIM and in the PWN 140. The GUTI229 is an example of temporary identification information. The GUTI 229includes the TMSI 223.

The communication service connected in the master device 110 maygenerate corresponding NSI 230. The NAI 210 may comprise the NSI 230.The NSI 230 may be stored in the master device 110 before terminatingthe communication service in the master device 110. The NSI 230 may bestored in the slave device 120 when the NAI 210 is sent from the masterdevice 110 to the slave device 120. After terminating the connection ofthe communication service in the master device 110, updated NSI may begenerated and stored in the slave device 120 in accordance with theconnection of the communication service in the slave device 120. Theupdated NSI may be sent to the master device 110 via the communicationlink 130 and the NSI 230 stored in the master device 110 may be updatedusing the updated NSI from the slave device 120. The NSI 230 may includeone or more of PWN cell identification information 231, radio resourcecontrol (RRC) status information 233, subscriber tracking area (TA)information 235, and non-access stratum (NAS) status information 237.

The PWN cell identification information 231 may be used to indicate towhich cell the UE currently belongs. When the user moves the UE to anadjacent PWN cell, the PWN cell identification information 231 willchange.

The RRC status information 233 may be used by the slave device 120 tomake a seamless connection to the PWN 140 and may be used to indicatethe current communication status of the master device 110 or slavedevice 120. When a UE is turned ON but is not performing anycommunication behavior (e.g., downloading data), the RRC state of the UEmay be referred to as RRC Idle Mode (e.g., ‘RRC_idle’) and when the UEis used for actual communication, the RRC state may be referred to asRRC Connected Mode (e.g., ‘RRC_connected’).

The subscriber TA information 235 may be used to indicate where thesubscriber is currently located.

The NAS information 237 may be used by the slave device 120 forauthentication for access over the PWN 140 and may be used forencryption of connection between the PWN 140 and the master device 110or slave device 120. NAS information 237 is an example of access statusinformation and is the information for NAS protocol which is in chargeof mobility management, identification, authentication, etc.

The NSI 230 may include information about the status of thecommunication service established by the master device 110 over the PWN140, and information defining the status of the access to the PWN 140 bythe master device 110. The slave device 120 may require the NSI 230 forthe slave device 120 to take over all or part of the communicationservice connected to the master device 110.

Returning to FIG. 1, the slave device may not have the NAI 210 needed toaccess the PWN 140, even though the slave device 120 has a communicationprocessor capable of accessing a communication service over the PWN 140.The slave device 120 may access the communication service over the PWN140 if the slave device has the NAI 210.

For example, if the slave device 120 can obtain NAI 210 provided fromthe master device 110, the slave device 120 may access the communicationservice over the PWN 140 using the provided NAI 210.

The slave device 120 may form a communication link to the master device110 through interface 130 and obtain NAI 210 provided from the masterdevice 110 using the communication link. The NAI 210 may be theinformation that the slave device 120 requires to access thecommunication service over the PWN 140. The slave device 120 may accessthe PWN 140 using the NAI 210 provided from the master device 110.

If access by multiple UE is requested using the information associatedwith the same subscriber, the PWN 140 will authorize only one UE toobtain access via a predetermined verification procedure. For example,if the master device 110 and slave device 120 attempt to access the PWN140 at the same time, the PWN 140 will usually award access priority tothe master device 110, and if the slave device 120 is already connectedto the PWN 140 when the master device requests access, the PWN 140 mayrelease PWN 140 access by the slave device 120.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram further illustrating in one example userequipment that may be used in a network environment according to certainembodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 3, a UE 301 in a network environment 300 in variousembodiments will be described. The UE 301 may include a bus 310, aprocessor 320, a memory 330, an input/output (I/O) interface 350, adisplay module 360, and a communication interface 370. In someembodiments, the UE 301 may exclude at least one of the abovecomponents, or may further include at least one other component. In someembodiments at least one of the above components may be divided intomore than one component.

For example, the communication interface 370 may include an interface130 comprising a communication link to facilitate communication betweenthe master device 110 and the slave device 120 and the communicationinterface may also comprise a communication processor to facilitateconnection from a UE to the PWN 140.

The bus 310 may include, for example, a circuit that connects thecomponents 310 to 370 with each other, and transmits communicationsignals (e.g., control messages and/or data) between the components 310to 370.

The processor 320 may include one or more of a central processing unit(CPU), an application processor (AP), and a communication processor(CP). The processor 320 may, for example, execute operation or dataprocessing concerning control and/or communication of at least one othercomponent of the UE 301.

Here, the processor 320 may maintain overall control as required toprovide a communication service over a PWN 140. The processor 320 mayperform differentiated control depending on whether the UE 301 hasaccess rights to the PWN 140. If the UE 301 has access rights to the PWN140, the processor 320 will perform control associated with a masterdevice (e.g., the master device 110). On the contrary, if the UE 301does not have access rights to the PWN 140, the processor 320 willperform control associated with a slave device (e.g., the slave device120).

Assuming that the UE 301 has access rights to the PWN 140 (e.g., the UE301 is a master device), the processor 320 may access the PWN 140 usingthe SII 220 as read by the processor 320 in order to control access tothe wireless communication service. In addition, the processor 320 mayform a communication link to another UE (e.g., a UE 302 or 304) via thecommunication interface 370, and provide NAI 210 to another UE (e.g.,the UE 302 or 304) via the formed communication link.

Assuming that the UE 301 does not have access rights to the PWN 140(i.e., the UE is a slave device), the processor 320 may form acommunication link to another UE (e.g., the UE 302 or 304) via thecommunication interface 370, and receive NAI 210 provided from anotherUE (e.g., the UE 302 or 304) via the formed communication link. In thiscase, the processor 320 may access the PWN 140 using the NAI 210provided from another UE (e.g., the UE 302 or 304) in order to establishand maintain a wireless communication service.

The memory 330 may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory(NVM). The memory may further include in a functional sense a (e.g., theSIM card connected to a master device 110). The memory 330 may be usedto store (e.g.,) various command(s) and/or data related to at least oneother component of the UE 301. In one embodiment, the memory 330 maystore NAI 210. The NAI 210 may be stored in the memory 330 to be used toaccess the PWN 140.

The I/O interface 350 may, for example, serve as an interface capable ofsending command(s) and/or data received from the user or anotherexternal UE to other component(s) of the UE 301. The I/O interface 350may output the command or data received from other component(s) of theUE 301 to the user or another external UE.

The display module 360 may include, for example, a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD) display, Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, Organic LED(OLED) display, Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) display, orelectronic paper display. The display module 360 may, for example,display a variety of content (e.g., texts, images, videos, icons,symbols, or the like) for the user. The display module 360 may include atouch screen, and may receive a touch input, a gesture input, aproximity input, or a hovering input, which is made by, for example, andelectronic pen or a part of the user's body.

The communication interface 370 may establish communication between, forexample, the UE 301 and the external UE (e.g., the first external UE302, the second external UE 304, or a server 306). For example, thecommunication interface 370 may be connected to a network 362 throughwired or wireless communication, to communicate with the external UE(e.g., the second external UE 304 or the server 306). The communicationinterface 370 may communicate with the external UE (e.g., the firstexternal UE 302) through wireless or wired communication 364.

The communication interface 370 may support a wireless communicationservice by being connected to the network 362 (e.g., the PWN 140). Thecommunication interface may access the network using the SII 220 or theNAI 210.

The communication interface 370 may set up a communication link to theexternal UE (e.g., the first external UE 302, the second external UE304, or the server 306), and perform communication to obtain the NAI 210from the external UE (e.g., the first external UE 302, the secondexternal UE 304, or the server 306) via the set communication link.

The wireless or wired communication 364 may include at least one of, forexample, LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, WCDMA, UMTS, WiBro and GSM, as a cellularcommunication protocol. The wireless or wired communication 364 may bewired and may include at least one of, for example, Universal Serial Bus(USB), High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Recommended Standard232 (RS-232) and Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). The network 362 mayinclude at least one of a telecommunications network which is, forexample, a computer network (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN) or WidebandLocal Area Network (WLAN)), the Internet, and a telephone network.

Each of the first external UE 302 and second external UE 304 may beequal to the UE 301 in type or different from the UE 301 in type (e.g.,receiver performance). In one embodiment, the server 306 may be a groupof one or more servers. In various embodiments, all or some of theoperations executed in the UE 301 may be executed in other UE (e.g., UE302 and 304, or the server 306). In one embodiment, if the UE 301 shouldperform any function or service automatically or by request, the UE 301may additionally request another UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304, or the server306) to perform one or more functions related thereto instead of the UE301 executing the one or more functions or services on its own. AnotherUE (e.g., UE 302 and 304, or the server 306) may execute the requestedone or more functions and/or services, and provide the results to the UE301. The UE 301 may provide the requested one or more functions and/orservices by using the received results intact or by additionallyprocessing the received results. To this end, for example, cloudcomputing, distributed computing, or client-server computing may beused.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram further illustrating in another example userequipment that may be used in a network environment according to certainembodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 4, UE 401 may include, for example, all or part of theUE 301 illustrated in FIG. 3. The UE may include one or more AP 410,communication module 420, SIM card 428, memory 430, sensor module 440,input device 450, display 460, interface 470, audio module 480, cameramodule 491, power management module 495, battery 496, indicator 497,motor 498, and the like.

The AP 410 may control multiple hardware or software componentsconnected to the AP 410 by driving, for example, the operating system(OS) or application programs, and may perform various data processingand calculations. The AP 410 may be implemented as, for example, asystem on chip (SoC). In one embodiment, the AP 410 may further includea graphic processing unit (GPU) and/or an image signal processor (ISP).The AP 410 may include at least some of the components (e.g.,communication processor 423) illustrated in FIG. 4. The AP 410 may load,in a volatile memory, the command or data received from at least one ofother components (e.g., a non-volatile memory (NVM)), process the loadeddata, and store a variety of data in the NVM. The application processor410 may control operation of the UE 401 by selectively executing theoperating system components, driver components, and applicationcomponents. The application processor 430 may send the NAI 210.

The communication module 420 may be equal or similar in structure to thecommunication interface 370 in FIG. 3. The communication module 420 mayinclude, for example, a wired connectivity unit 421, a communicationprocessor 423, a wireless connectivity unit 424, a BT module 425, a GPSmodule 426, an NFC module 427, and a Radio Frequency (RF) module 422.

The communication module 420 may connect a communication service over aPWN 140 using the SII 220, execute the mobile state transfer layer togenerate NAI 210, and store the NAI 210 to the memory 430.

The communication processor 423 may provide, for example, voice callservices, video call services, text services, Internet service, or thelike over the communication network. In one embodiment, thecommunication processor 423 may perform an identification andauthentication operation of the UE 401 in the communication networkusing the SII 220 and/or the NAI 210 recorded in SIM (e.g., the SIM card428). The NAI 210 may be provided from another UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304)and recorded in an allocated area in the memory 330.

The communication processor 423 may perform at least some of thefunctions that the AP 410 can provide.

Each of the wireless connectivity unit 424, the BT module 425, the GPSmodule 426, and the NFC module 427 may include a processor forprocessing the data that is transmitted/received through, for example,the module itself. In one embodiment, any one of the wirelessconnectivity unit 424, the BT module 425, and the NFC module 427 may beused for communication with another UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304). Any oneof the wireless connectivity unit 424, the BT module 425, and the NFCmodule 427 may obtain NAI 210 to be used during an access to the PWN 140by communication with another UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304).

In some cases, at least some (e.g., at least two) of the communicationprocessor 423, the wireless connectivity unit 424, the BT module 425,the GPS module 426, and the NFC module 427 may be incorporated into theintegrated chip (IC) or IC package.

The RF module 422 may, for example transmit/receive communicationsignals (e.g., RF signals). The RF module 422 may include, for example,a transceiver, a Power Amp Module (PAM), a frequency filter, a Low NoiseAmplifier (LNA), an antenna, or the like. In another embodiment, atleast one of the communication processor 423, the wireless connectivityunit 424, the BT module 425, the GPS module 426, and the NFC module 427may transmit/receive RF signals through a separate RF module.

The SIM card 428 may include, for example, a card equipped with a SIMand/or an embedded SIM, which may include unique identificationinformation (e.g., ICCID 225) or information to identify the subscriber(e.g., IMSI 221). The SIM card 428 may comprise part of the memory 430.

The memory 430 may include, for example, an internal memory 432 or anexternal memory 434. The internal memory 432 may include at least oneof, for example, a volatile memory (e.g., Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Static RAM(SRAM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), etc.), a non-volatile memory(e.g., One Time Programmable ROM (OTPROM), Programmable ROM (PROM),Erasable and Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable andProgrammable ROM (EEPROM), mask ROM, flash ROM, flash memory (e.g., NANDflash or NOR flash), etc.), a hard drive, and a Solid State Drive (SSD).

The external memory 434 may include further include a flash drive (e.g.,Compact Flash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), Micro Secure Digital(Micro-SD), Mini Secure Digital (Mini-SD), Extreme Digital (xD), etc.),or a memory stick. The external memory 434 may be functionally and/orphysically connected to the UE 401 through a variety of interfaces.

In one embodiment, the internal memory 432 or the external memory 434included in the memory 430 may store NAI 210 obtained from another UE(e.g., UE 302 and 304). For example, the NAI 210 may include NSI 230,entire or partial SIM information (e.g., SII 220), and the like. The NAI210 may include RRC status information 233, NAS status information 237,and the like. The RRC status information 233 is to be used by another UE(e.g., UE 302 and 304) to make a seamless connection to the PWN 140. TheNAS information 237 is to be used by another UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304),for authentication for its access to the PWN 140. The partial SIMinformation may include an ICCID 225, an IMSI 221, a GUTI 229, a TMSI223, and the like.

The memory 430 may store software components including operating systemcomponents, driver components, application components, and protocolstack components including a mobile state transfer layer.

The sensor module 440 may, for example, measure physical quantities ordetect an operating state of the UE 401, and convert the measured ordetected information into an electrical signal. The sensor module 440may include at least one of, for example, a gesture sensor 440A, a gyrosensor 440B, a barometric pressure sensor 440C, a magnetic sensor 440D,an acceleration sensor 440E, a grip sensor 440F, a proximity sensor440G, a color sensor (e.g., Red/Green/Blue (RGB) sensor) 440H, abiometric sensor 4401, a temperature/humidity sensor 440J, anilluminance sensor 440K, and an Ultra Violet (UV) sensor 440L.Additionally or alternatively, the sensor module 440 may include, forexample, one or more of an electronic nose (E-nose) sensor, anelectromyography (EMG) sensor, electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor,electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, an Infra Red (IR) sensor, an irissensor, and a fingerprint sensor.

The sensor module 440 may further include a control circuit forcontrolling at least one sensor belonging thereto. In some embodiments,the UE 401 may further include a processor that is configured to controlthe sensor module 440, as a part of the AP 410 or separately, so the UE401 may control the sensor module 440 while the AP 410 is in a sleepstate.

The input device 450 may include, for example, a touch panel 452, a(digital) pen sensor 454, a key 456, or an ultrasonic input device 458.The touch panel 452 may recognize a touch input in at least one of, forexample, a capacitive way, a resistive way, an infrared way and anultrasonic way. The touch panel 452 may further include a controlcircuit. The touch panel 452 may further include a tactile layer, toprovide tactile feedbacks to the user.

The (digital) pen sensor 454 may be, for example, a part of a touchpanel or may include a separate recognition sheet. The key 456 mayinclude, for example, a physical button, an optical key, or a keypad.The ultrasonic input device 458 may check data by detecting sound waveswith a microphone (MIC) 488 in the UE 401, using an input tool thatgenerates ultrasonic signals.

The display 460 (e.g., the display module 360) may include a panel 462,a hologram device 464, or a projector 466. The panel 462 may be equal orsimilar in structure to the display module 360 in FIG. 3. The panel 462may be implemented in, for example, a flexible way, a transparent way,or a wearable way. The panel 462, together with the touch panel 452, maybe configured as one module. The hologram device 464 may displaystereoscopic images in the air using the interference of light. Theprojector 466 may display images by projecting the light onto a screen.The screen may be disposed on an inner or outer surface of the UE 401.In one embodiment, the display 460 may further include a control circuitfor controlling one or more of the panel 462, the hologram device 464 orthe projector 466.

The interface 470 may include, for example, an HDMI 472, a USB 474, anoptical interface 476, or a D-subminiature (D-sub) 478. The interface470 may be, for example, incorporated into the communication interface370 illustrated in FIG. 3. Additionally or alternatively, the interface470 may include, for example, a Mobile High-definition Link (MHL)interface, a Secure Digital (SD) card/Multi-Media Card (MMC) interface,or an Infrared Data Association (IrDA) interface.

The audio module 480 may convert, for example, sounds and electricalsignals bi-directionally. At least some of the components of the audiomodule 480 may be incorporated into, for example, the I/O interface 350illustrated in FIG. 3. The audio module 480 may process the soundinformation that is received or output through, for example, a speaker(SPK) 482, a receiver 484, an earphone 486, or the microphone 488.

The camera module 491, which is, for example, a device capable ofshooting or capturing still images and videos, may include one or moreimage sensors (e.g., a front sensor, a rear sensor or the like), a lens,an ISP, or a flash (e.g., LED or xenon lamp) in one embodiment.

The power management module 495 may, for example, manage the power ofthe UE 401. In one embodiment, the power management module 495 mayinclude a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), a chargerintegrated circuit (IC), or a battery or fuel gauge. The PMIC may have awired charging scheme and a wireless charging scheme. The wirelesscharging scheme may include, for example, a magnetic resonance scheme, amagnetic induction scheme, an electromagnetic wave scheme, or the like,and the power management module 495 may further include an additionalcircuit for wireless charging (e.g., a loop coil, a resonance circuit, arectifier, or the like). The battery gauge may measure, for example, theremaining capacity, the charging voltage and current, or the temperatureof the battery 496. The battery 496 may include, for example, arechargeable battery and/or a solar battery.

The indicator 497 may indicate specific states (e.g., a boot state,message state, charging state, or the like) of the UE 401 or a part(e.g., the AP 410) thereof. The motor 498 may convert an electricalsignal into mechanical vibrations, and may generate vibration or hapticeffects. Although not shown, the UE 401 may include a processing unit(e.g., GPU) for support of a mobile TV. The processing unit for supportof a mobile TV may process the media data that is based on, for example,digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), digital video broadcasting (DVB),media flow, or the like.

Each of the above-described components of the UE 401 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured as oneor more components, and the name of the component may vary depending onthe type of the UE. In various embodiments, the UE may be configured toinclude at least one of the above-described components, and the UE mayexclude some of the components, or may further include additional othercomponents. Some of the components of the UE according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be configured as one entity bybeing combined, thereby making it possible to perform in the same waythe functions of the components, which were performed before thecomponents were combined.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram further illustrating in one example a programmodule that may be used in certain embodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 5, a program module 510 may include an operatingsystem (OS) for controlling resources related to the UE (e.g., the UE401) and/or various applications running in the OS. The OS may include,for example, Android™, iOS™, Windows™ Symbian™, Tizen™, Bada™, or thelike.

The program module 510 may include a kernel 520, middleware 530, API560, and/or application 570. At least a part of the program module 510may be preloaded in the UE, or downloaded from a server (e.g., theserver 306). One or more of the kernel 520, middleware 530, and API 560may be functionally “called” by the OS.

The kernel 520 may include, for example, a system resource manager 521or device driver 523. The system resource manager 521 may be used toperform control, allocation or recovery for system resources. In oneembodiment, the system resource manager 521 may include a processmanager, a memory manager, a file system manager, or the like. Thedevice driver 523 may include, for example, a display driver, a cameradriver, a Bluetooth driver, a shared memory driver, a USB driver, akeypad driver, a Wi-Fi driver, an audio driver, or an inter-processcommunication (IPC) driver.

The middleware 530 may, for example, be used as an intermediary so thatthe API 560 or application program 570 may communicate with the kernel520 to exchange data. The middleware 530 may provide, for example, thefunction that the application 570 requires in common, or may providevarious functions to the application 570 through the API 560 so that theapplication 570 may efficiently use the limited system resources in theUE. In one embodiment, the middleware 530 may include at least one of aruntime library 535, an application manager 541, a window manager 542, amultimedia manager 543, a resource manager 544, a power manager 545, adatabase manager 546, a package manager 547, a connectivity manager 548,a notification manager 549, a location manager 550, a graphic manager551, and a security manager 552.

The runtime library 535 may include, for example, a library module thata complier uses to add a new function through a programming languagewhile the application 570 is executed. The runtime library 535 mayperform I/O management, memory management, or functions for arithmeticfunctions.

The application manager 541 may manage, for example, a life cycle of atleast one of the applications 570. The window manager 542 may manage GUIresources used on the screen. The multimedia manager 543 may determinethe format required for playback of various media files, and performencoding or decoding of a media file using a codec for the format. Theresource manager 544 may manage a source code for at least one of theapplications 570, and resources for a memory or storage space.

The power manager 545 may manage the battery or power by operatingtogether with, for example, the basic input/output system (BIOS), andprovide power information required for an operation of the UE. Thedatabase manager 546 may create, search or change the database to beused by at least one of the applications 570. The package manager 547may manage installation or update of the application that is distributedin the form of a package file.

The connectivity manager 548 may manage wireless connectivity of, forexample, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The notification manager 549 may be used todisplay or notify an event such as message arrival, appointment andproximity alert, in a manner that does not interfere with the user. Thelocation manager 550 may be used to manage location information of theUE. The graphic manager 551 may be used to manage the graphic effects tobe provided to the user, or a user interface associated therewith. Thesecurity manager 552 may be used to provide various security featuresrequired for the system security or user authentication. In oneembodiment, if the UE (e.g., the UE 301) includes a telephony function,the middleware 530 may further include a telephony manager for managingvoice or video call features of the UE.

The middleware 530 may include a middleware module that forms acombination of various functions of the above components. The middleware530 may provide a module that is specific to the type of the OS, toprovide the differentiated function. The middleware 530 may dynamicallyremove some of the existing components, or add new components.

The API 560, which is a set of, for example, API programming functions,may be provided in different configurations depending on the OS. Forexample, the API 560 may provide one API set for each platform inAndroid or iOS, and provide two or more API sets for each platform inTizen.

The application 570 may include one or more applications capable ofproviding functions such as, for example, home 571, dialer 572, ShortMessage Service (SMS)/Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) 573, InstantMessage (IM) 574, browser 575, camera 576, alarm 577, contact 578, voicedial 579, e-mail 580, calendar 581, media player 582, album 583, clock584, healthcare (e.g., measuring of amount of exercise, blood glucose,etc.), and environmental information (e.g., providing of barometricpressure, moisture, or temperature information).

In one embodiment, the application 570 may include an application(hereinafter, referred to as an ‘information exchange application’ forconvenience of description) supporting information exchange between theUE (e.g., the UE 301) and the external UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304). Theinformation exchange application may include, for example, anotification relay application for relaying specific information to theexternal UE, or a device management application for managing theexternal UE, or may include NAI 210 for an access to the PWN 140.

For example, the notification relay application may include a functionof sending notification information generated by other applications(e.g., the SMS/MMS application, E-mail application, healthcareapplication, environmental information application, or the like) in theUE to the external UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304). The notification relayapplication may, for example, receive notification information from theexternal UE, and provide the received notification information to theuser. The device management application may, for example, manage thefunctions (e.g., the enablement/dis-enablement of the external UE itselfor some components thereof, or the adjustment of the brightness orresolution of the display for at least a part of the external UE (e.g.,the UE 304) communicating with the UE, or may manage (e.g., install,delete or update) the applications operating in the external UE or theservices (e.g., a call service or a message service) provided by theexternal UE.

In one embodiment, the applications 570 may include applications (e.g.,healthcare applications) that are specified depending on the properties(e.g., properties of UE, and the type of the UE is a mobile medicaldevice) of the external UE (e.g., UE 302 and 304). In one embodiment,the applications 570 may include an application received from theexternal UE (e.g., server 306 or UE 302 and 304). In one embodiment, theapplications 570 may include a preloaded application, or a third partyapplication that can be downloaded from the server. The names of thecomponents of the program module 510 according to the illustratedembodiment may vary depending on the type of the OS.

In various embodiments, at least a part of the program module 510 may beimplemented by software, firmware and/or hardware. At least a part ofthe program module 510 may be implemented (or executed by), for example,a processor (e.g., the AP 410). At least a part of the program module510 may include, for example, a module, a program, a routine, a set ofinstructions, or a process for performing one or more functions.

The term ‘module’ as used in herein may refer to a unit that includesany one or a combination of hardware, software and firmware. The term‘module’ may be interchangeably used with a term such as, for example,‘unit’, ‘logic’, ‘logical block’, ‘component’ or ‘circuit’. The ‘module’may be the minimum unit of an integrated component, or a part thereof.The ‘module’ may be the minimum unit of performing one or morefunctions, or a part thereof. The ‘module’ may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, the ‘module’ may include atleast one of an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip,Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and a programmable-logic device,each of which performs any operations that are known or to be developedin the future.

At least a part of the device (e.g., modules or functions thereof) ormethod (e.g., operations) according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be implemented by, for example, instructions thatare stored in computer-readable storage media in the form of aprogramming module. If an instruction is executed by one or moreprocessors (e.g., the processor 320), the one or more processors mayperform the function corresponding to the instruction. Thecomputer-readable storage media may be, for example, the memory 430.

The computer-readable storage media may include magnetic media (e.g.,hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic tape, etc.), optical media (e.g.,Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD),etc.), magneto-optical media (e.g., floptical disk, etc.), and ahardware device (e.g., Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory(RAM), flash memory, etc.). The program instruction may include not onlythe machine code created by the compiler, but also a high-level languagecode that can be executed by the computer using an interpreter or thelike. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or moresoftware modules to perform the operations in various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, and vice versa.

A module or program module according to various embodiments may includeat least one of the above-described components, and the module orprogram module may exclude some of the components, or may includeadditional other components. The module or program module according tovarious embodiments, or the operations performed by other components maybe executed in sequence, in parallel, repeatedly and/or heuristically.Some operations may be executed in a different order, or may be omitted,or other operations may be added.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating in one example variousconnections between multiple UE using a communication service over a PWN140 according to embodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 6, the multiple UE include as examples a first masterdevice 620, a slave device 630, and a second master device 640. Thefirst master device 620 may contain a SIM 624, the second master device640 may contain a SIM 644, and the slave device 630 may not have a SIM,but may have a NVM 634. The SIMs 624 and 644 may contain accessauthorization credentials (e.g., SII 220) to connect to a communicationservice over the PWN 140, but the slave device may internally lackaccess authorization credentials to connect to a communication serviceover the PWN 140.

The first master device 620 may have first SII (1SII) stored in the SIM624 and may connect to a first communication service. The first masterdevice 620 may generate first NSI (1NSI) associated with the connectingof the first communication service and may derive first NAI (1NAI) fromthe 1SII and 1NSI. The first master device 620 may establish a firstcommunication link (e.g., wireless connectivity link 650) between thefirst master device 620 and slave device 630.

A second master device 640 may have second SII (1SII) stored in the SIM644 and may connect to a second communication service. The second masterdevice 640 may generate second NSI (2NSI) associated with the connectingof the second communication service and may derive second NAI (2NAI)from the 2SII and 2NSI. The second master device 640 may establish asecond communication link (e.g., wired connectivity link 660) betweenthe second master device 640 and slave device 630.

The first master device 620 may send the 1NAI to the slave device 630via the first communication link (e.g., wireless communication link 650)and the slave device 630 may store the 1NAI in the slave device 630(e.g., NVM 634). The second master device 640 may send the 2NAI to theslave device 630 via the second communication link (e.g., wiredcommunication link 660) and the slave device 630 may store the 2NAI inthe slave device 630 (e.g., NMV 634).

Thus, the slave device 630 may connect to the first communicationservice over the PWN 140 using the 1NAI and the first communicationservice may be terminated in the first master device 620. The PWN 140will not allow multiple UE to access the PWN 140 using the same SII. Theslave device 630 may generate updated 1NAI during connection to thefirst communication service in the slave device 630 and may synchronizethe updated 1NAI between the slave device 630 and the first masterdevice 620 via the first communication link (e.g., wirelesscommunication link 650).

For example, the slave device 630 may receive data from the firstcommunication service over the PWN 140 and the slave device 630 mayrelay the data from the slave device 630 to the first master device 620via the first communication link (e.g., wireless communication link).The slave device 630 may connect to the second communication serviceover the PWN 140 using the 2NAI and the second communication service mayterminate in the second master device 640. The slave device 630 maygenerate updated 2NAI during connection of the second communicationservice in the slave device 630 and may synchronize the updated 2NAIbetween the slave device 630 and the second master device 640 via secondcommunication link (e.g., wired communication link 660).

Additionally, the second communication service may be terminated in thesecond master device 640, the slave device 630 may receive data from thefirst communication service, and the slave device may relay the datafrom the slave device to at least two devices including the first masterdevice 620 via the first communication link and the second master device640 via the second communication link. The first master device 620, thesecond master device 640, and the slave device 630 may support using acommon communication service over the PWN 140.

Even though the slave device 630 is connected to the PWN 140 and thefirst master device 620 and second master device 640 are no longerconnected to the PWN 140, the subscriber may still enjoy thecommunication service through the slave device by using the first masterdevice 620 and second master device 640. The first master device 620 andthe second master device 640 may enjoy the communication service throughthe slave device via communication links (e.g., wireless communicationlink 650, wired communication link 660).

If the two master devices 620 and 640 have the same SII 220, the slavedevice 630 may receive the NAI 210 from only one of the two masterdevices 620 and 640. In this case, if the slave device 630 has accessedthe PWN 140, the access to the PWN 140 may be released or may not bepermitted, for both of the two master devices 620 and 640.

As described above, the multiple UE 620, 630 and 640 may includecommunication processors 622, 632 and 642, respectively, andconnectivity units. The connectivity units may include wirelessconnectivity units 626, 636 and 646, and wired connectivity units 628,638 and 648.

The communication processors 622, 632 and 642 may support an operationof allowing their UE to use a communication service over the PWN 140.The wireless connectivity units 626, 636 and 646 each may support anoperation in which the UE forms the wireless connectivity link 650 toanother UE based on a predetermined wireless communication protocol, andtransmit/receive information (e.g., NAI 210, NSI 230, modem statusinformation, etc.) via the formed wireless connectivity link 650. Thewired connectivity units 628, 638 and 648 each may support an operationin which the UE forms the wired connectivity link 660 to another UEbased on a predetermined wired communication protocol, andtransmit/receive information (e.g., NAI 210, NSI 230, modem statusinformation, etc.) via the formed wired connectivity link 660. Thewireless connectivity link 650 may be expressed as ‘connectivityinterface’ or ‘wireless interface.’ The wired connectivity link 660 maybe expressed as ‘cable interface’ or ‘wired interface.’

The wireless connectivity unit 636 in the slave device 630 may provideNSI 230 (e.g., modem status information) to the master device 620 viathe wireless connectivity link 650. The wired connectivity unit 638 inthe slave device 630 may provide NSI 230 (e.g., modem statusinformation) to the master device 640 via the wired connectivity link660. The NSI 230 may be provided to the master devices 620 and 640, onlyif the NSI 230 is changed due to the communication service over the PWN140.

For example, the NSI 230 may be provided to the master devices 620 and640, upon occurrence of an event corresponding to at least one of aninter-cell handover, a change in cell identification information, achange in TMSI 223, a change in physical proximity between the masterdevice and slave device, a change in a power condition for one of themaster device and the slave device, and a change in communication linkconnectivity between the master device and the slave device.

The master devices 620 and 640 may update the existing NSI, using theNSI provided from the slave device 630.

Upon request for an access to the PWN 140, the master devices 620 and640 may command the slave device 630 to terminate the communicationservice. In response to the command, the slave device 630 may releaseits access to the PWN 140. In this way, the master devices 620 and 640may make an access to the PWN 140, using the updated NSI.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating in one example various componentsof a master device according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 7, a master device 700 may include a communicationprocessor 710, a SIM card 720, a connectivity unit 730, and anapplication processor 740. The communication processor 710 may haveinformation to be used to access the PWN 140. For example, thecommunication processor 710 may include NSI 230 (e.g., RRC statusinformation 233, NAS information 237) and SII 220 (e.g., entire orpartial SIM information), to connect to the communication service overthe PWN 140. As for the components of the master device 700, only thecomponents required for various embodiments of the present disclosureare illustrated in the drawing.

The communication processor 710 may access (or read) SII 220 recorded inthe SIM card 720, and may access the PWN 140 using the read SII 220. TheSIM card 720 may record, as SII 220, a variety of information, such asICCID 225, IMSI 221, GUTI 229, and TMSI 223.

If the communication processor 710 is successfully connected to thecommunication service over the PWN 140, the communication processor 710may transmit/receive information (e.g., application data, etc.)associated with the communication service over the PWN 140. Thecommunication processor 710 may generate and update NSI 230 such as RRCstatus information 233 and NAS information 237, which corresponds to theaccess to the cellular network and the communication service over theconnected communication service over the PWN 140.

The communication processor 710 may send the NSI 230 and the entire orpartial SII 220 to the connectivity unit 730 so that the NAI 210 may beprovided to the slave device.

The connectivity unit 730 may include a wireless communication module, awired communication module, and the like. The wireless communicationmodule may allow the master device 700 to form a wireless link to theslave device based on a predetermined wireless communication protocol,and transmit/receive information (e.g., NAI 210, NSI 230, modem statusinformation, application data, etc.) via the formed wireless link. Thewired communication module may allow the master device 700 to form awired link to the slave device based on a predetermined wiredcommunication protocol, and transmit/receive information (e.g., NAI 210,NSI 230, modem status information, application data, etc.) via theformed wired link.

The NAI 210 may be information that the connectivity unit 730 providesto the slave device. The NAI 210 may be configured by the connectivityunit 730 using the NSI 230 and the entire or partial SII 220, which areprovided from the communication processor 710. The NSI may include RRCstatus information 233 and NAS information 237. The RRC statusinformation 223 is to be used by the slave device to make a seamlessconnection to the PWN 140, and the NAS information 237 is to be used bythe slave device, for authentication.

The modem status information may be an example of NSI 230 that theconnectivity unit 730 has received from the slave device. The modemstatus information may be information related to the communicationenvironment in which the slave device uses a communication service overthe PWN 140. For example, the modem status information may includeinformation about a change in communication environment, such as aninter-cell handover, a change in cell identification information, and achange in TMSI 223. The modem status information may be used by themaster device, when the master device makes an access to the PWN 140and/or uses a communication service over the PWN 140.

The application data may be data that the master device can provide orreceive to/from the slave device. For example, as for the applicationdata that the master device will provide to the slave device, thecommunication processor 710 may receive the application data from thePNW 140, and provide the received application data through theapplication processor 740. The application data that is provided to theslave device may include information based on which the master device700 controls the slave device. The application data provided from theslave device may be provided to the application processor 740, or may bedelivered to the communication processor 710 through the applicationprocessor 740. The application data received from the slave device mayinclude information about the processing results of a certain operationby the slave device.

For the overall operation of the master device 700, the applicationprocessor 740 may control the components of the master device 700. Theapplication processor 740 may perform a control operation of processingthe information provided from the communication processor 710 and theinformation provided from the connectivity unit 730.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating in one example various componentsof a slave device according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 8, a slave device 800 may include a communicationprocessor 810, a connectivity unit 820, and an application processor830. As for the components of the slave device 800, only the componentsrequired for various embodiments of the present disclosure areillustrated in the drawing.

The communication processor 810 may have at least one type of NAI 210 tobe used for an access to the PWN 140. The communication processor 810may include NAI 210 separately for each master device. As illustrated,it can be noted that the communication processor 810 may receive andmanage NAI 210 (e.g., 210 a, 210 b, 210 c, 210 d) from four masterdevices. The communication processor 810 may receive the NAI 210 throughthe connectivity unit 820.

The communication processor 810 may select one of the stored NAI 210,and attempt an access to the PWN 140 using the selected NAI.

If the communication processor 810 is successfully connected to the PWN140, the communication processor 810 may transmit/receive information(e.g., application data, etc.) associated with the communication serviceover the connected PWN 140. The communication processor 810 may generateand update NSI 230 such as RRC status information 233 and NASinformation 237, which corresponds to the access to the cellular networkand the common or different communication service over the connected PWN140.

The connectivity unit 820 may include a wireless communication module, awired communication module, and the like. The wireless communicationmodule may allow the slave device 800 to form a wireless link to atleast one master device based on a predetermined wireless communicationprotocol, and transmit/receive information (e.g., NAI 210, NSI 230,modem status information, application data, etc.) via the formedwireless link. The wired communication module may allow the slave device800 to form a wired link to the master device based on a predeterminedwired communication protocol, and transmit/receive information (e.g.,NAI 210, NSI 230, modem status information, application data, etc.) viathe formed wired link.

The NAI 210 may include NSI 230, entire or partial SII 220, and thelike. The NSI 230 may include RRC status information 233 ‘RC info’, NASinformation 237 ‘NAS info’, and the like. The RRC status information 233is to be used by the slave device to make a seamless connection to thePWN 140, and the NAS information 237 is to be used by the slave device,for authentication. The entire or partial SII 220 may include an ICCID225, an IMSI 221, a GUTI 229, a TMSI 223, and the like.

The modem status information may be an example of the NSI 230 that theconnectivity unit 820 provides to the master device. The modem statusinformation may be information related to the communication environmentin which the slave device uses a communication service over the PWN 140.For example, the modem status information may include information abouta change in communication environment, such as an inter-cell handover, achange in cell identification information, and a change in TMSI 223. Themodem status information may be used by the master device to make anaccess to the PWN 140 and/or to use a communication service over the PWN140.

The application data may be data that the connectivity unit 820 canprovide or receive to/from the master device. For example, as for theapplication data that the slave device will provide to the masterdevice, the application data may be received from the PWN 140 anddelivered by the communication processor 810, or may be provided by theapplication processor 830. The application data that is provided to themaster device may include information about the processing results of acertain operation by the slave device. The application data providedfrom the master device may be provided to the application processor 830or the communication processor 810. The application data provided fromthe master device may include information based on which master devicecontrols the slave device 800.

For the overall operation of the slave device 800, the applicationprocessor 830 may control the components of the slave device 800. Theapplication processor 830 may perform a control operation of processingthe information provided from the communication processor 810 and theinformation provided from the connectivity unit 820.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart summarizing a control flow in a master deviceaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 910, the master device may access aPWN 140 and provide a communication service over the connected PWN 140.The master device may access the PWN 140 by connecting a SIM in themaster device, reading SII 220 from the SIM, storing the SII 220 in themaster device, and using the stored SII to connect to the communicationservice. The master device may access the PWN 140 by using stored accessauthorization credentials.

In operation 912, the master device may generate or update the NSI 230associated with the provision of the communication service over the PWN140. The NSI 230 may include physical information in addition to RRCinformation 233. The physical information may include cellidentification information (cell ID) 231. Partial or entire SII 220 maybe generated and updated in addition to the NSI 230. SII 220 may includepaging information (IMSI 221 or TMSI 223), and the like. The masterdevice may derive NAI 210 from the access authorization credentials(e.g., partial or entire SII 220) and the NSI 230. The master device maystore the NSI 230 or NAI 210 in the master device before terminating thecommunication service in the master device.

In operation 914, the master device may determine whether there is aneed to provide NAI 210 to a slave device. The determination may be madein response to the request from the user, the occurrence of a situationin which the master device can no longer provide the communicationservice, or the request from the slave device.

If there is a request for delivery of NAI 210, the master device mayconnect a communication link to at least one slave device in operation916. For connection of a communication link, the master device maydetermine whether its connectivity unit and a connectivity unit mountedin the slave device are enabled. The communication link may include awireless link that uses wireless resources, or a wired link that useswired resources such as a cable. For example, the wireless link may beconnected using a wireless communication protocol such as Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, and NFC.

If connectivity is not available in the master device, the master devicemay turn on connectivity. The master device may confirm if the correctslave device is connectable. If the correct slave device is connectable,the master device may set connectability (i.e., set connection in Wi-Fior Bluetooth, locate both devices within connectable proximity in NFC).

The master device may receive a first signal that contains informationwhether the slave device is connectable to the master device viaconnectivity (Wi-Fi, BT, NRF, etc.). The master device may receive asecond signal containing information whether the slave device has thecapability to be connected to the PWN 140. The first signal and thesecond signal may be identical signals, may be distinct signals, or maybe combined into one signal.

If a master device meets a predetermined condition, the master devicemay perform a communication link connecting procedure with a slavedevice in operation 916. Similarly, if the slave device meets apredetermined condition, the slave device may also perform acommunication link connecting procedure with the master device.

In one embodiment, the predetermined condition may be a communicationenvironment condition, in which the master device and the slave devicemay create a communication link, and exchange information via the formedcommunication link. The communication environment condition may varydepending on the type of the communication protocol to be used to formthe communication link. The predetermined condition may be set inadvance for each communication protocol to be used. For example, thecommunication protocol may be divided into a wired communicationprotocol and a wireless communication protocol. The wirelesscommunication protocol, which is a protocol supporting a communicationlink, may be a protocol defined for Wi-Fi, NFC, BT, and the like.

To determine whether the communication environment meets a predeterminedcondition, the master device or the slave device may use its receivedsignal strength, and at least one sensor thereof. In addition, thedetermining of whether the communication environment meets apredetermined condition may be replaced by monitoring whether a user'srequest is received.

As for the master device, if its communication link to at least oneslave device is connected, the master device may deliver the operationdata (downlink data) received from the PWN 140 to at least one slavedevice via the communication link. On the contrary, the master devicemay transmit the operation data (uplink data) that is received from theat least one slave device, to the PWN 140 via the communication link andrelay this data or data derived from it. Hence, in one aspect of theinventive concept, a download relay may be understood as progressingfrom the PWN to slave device to master device, and an upload relay maybe understood as progressing from a master device to a slave device tothe PWN. For example, assuming a user wants to download a very largevolume of data (e.g., a movie) from PWN to his/her master device, thedownloading of corresponding data via powerful slave device may bebetter (e.g., more efficient) than downloading the corresponding datadirectly to the master device.

If the master device connects a communication link to at least one slavedevice, the master device may transmit NAI 210 via the connectedcommunication link in operation 918. The NAI 210 may include NSI 230 andSII 220. The NSI 230 may include RRC status information 233, NAS statusinformation 237, and the like. The RRC status information 233 is to beused by at least one slave device to make a seamless connection to thecellular network, and the NAS information 237 is to be used by at leastone slave device, for authentication for an access to the PWN 140. TheSII 220 may include the entire SII or partial SII, which is recorded inthe SIM card of the master device. The partial SII may be any one of anICCID 225, an IMSI 221, a GUTI 229, and a TMSI 223. The SII 220 maycomprise information derived from at least one of the plurality of SIIcomponents. The SII 220 may comprise a TMSI 223 provided to the masterdevice from the PWN 140 upon connecting the communication service in themaster device.

The providing of the NAI 210 to the slave device may mean that themaster device has approved the access to the PWN 140 by the slavedevice. In this case, the master device may block the communicationservice that the master device has been using over the PWN 140.

The NAI 210 sharing procedure may be initiated by a command of themaster device, or by a request of the slave device.

After transmitting the NAI 210 to at least one slave device, the masterdevice may release the access to the PWN 140 (e.g., terminate connectionof the communication service in the master device) in operation 920. Thereason why the master device releases the access to the PWN 140 is toprevent occurrence of a situation in which the master device attempts anaccess to the PWN 140, together with at least one slave device that hasreceived the NAI 210. For example, the access to the PWN 140 may bereleased as the master device disables its communication processor orenters a sleep mode. After releasing the access to the PWN 140, themaster device may use the communication service only via thecommunication link.

After terminating the communication service in the master device, themaster device may listen to the communication service withouttransmitting over the communication service via the master device.Listening includes continuously monitoring whether there is a need toconnect to the communication service in the master device.

In operation 922, the master device may synchronize one or morecomponents of the NAI 210 (e.g., NSI 230, modem status information)updated by the slave device that accesses the PWN 140 and uses thecommunication service. The synchronization of the NAI 210 is anoperation matching the NAI 210 stored in the master device to the NAI210 stored in the slave device. To this end, the master device mayreceive NAI from the slave device via the communication link, and updatethe existing NAI using the received NAI. This operation can besynchronization for the NAI 210.

The synchronization for the NAI 210 may enable the master device toeasily make a reconnection to the PWN 140. In other words, if the NAI210 is synchronized, the master device may quickly re-access the PWN 140using the NAI 210.

The synchronization for the NAI 210 may be performed periodically orupon occurrence of a predetermined event. The predetermined event maycorrespond to at least one of an inter-cell handover, a change in cellidentification information 231, a change in TMSI 223, a change inphysical proximity between the master device and slave device, a changein a power condition for one of the master device and the slave device,and a change in communication link connectivity between the masterdevice and the slave device.

The slave device may be in stand-alone mode or relay mode. If the slavedevice is in stand-alone mode, the slave device replaces the masterdevice and the slave device accesses the PWN 140 on behalf of the masterdevice and the slave device receives data from the PWN 140. The NAI 210is synchronized between the slave device and the master device, but datais not synchronized (e.g., uplink data, downlink data) between the slavedevice and master device.

In operation 924, if the slave device is in relay mode, the masterdevice transmits uplink data to and receives downlink data from theslave device. This is in addition to the NAI 210 being synchronizedbetween the slave device and the master device. The master device maytransmit uplink data to slave device via the communication link, afterwhich the slave device may relay the data to the communication service.The master device may receive downlink data from the slave device viathe communication link that the slave device may have received from thecommunication service. The relay mode may allow multiple UE (e.g.,master device) to uplink data to and downlink data from the PWN 140through the slave device. The relay mode may allow a UE that has aninferior characteristics (e.g., lower performance receiver, transmitter,or battery) to access the PWN 140 through a device (e.g., slave device)that has superior characteristics (e.g., better performance receiver,transmitter, or battery).

In operation 926, the master device may continuously monitor whetherthere is a need for an access to the PWN 140. Although the master deviceis not transmitting directly over the PWN 140, the master device may belistening to the communication service without transmitting. Thesituation in which there is a need for an access to the PWN 140 mayoccur in response to the request by the user, the paging from the PWN140, the request from the slave device, and the like.

In one embodiment, the master device may receive a report indicatingtermination of the communication service over the PWN 140 from the slavedevice, which was connected to the PWN 140. In this case, the masterdevice may resume the blocked communication service over the PWN 140.

In one embodiment, the master device, on its own demand, may command theslave device to release its access to the PWN 140. The master device maysend the command to release the access to the PWN 140, via thecommunication link connecting the master device to the slave device.

For example, upon occurrence of an event in which an access to the PWN140 is required, the master device may command the slave device torelease its access to the PWN 140. In response to the command, the slavedevice will terminate the communication service that the slave devicehas been using over the PWN 140. The slave device needs to report itstermination of the communication service to the master device. Uponreceiving the report indicating the termination of the communicationservice, the master device may attempt an access to the PWN 140. In thiscase, the master device may take into account the updated NSI 230.

The master device should be able to recover (or withdraw) the accessrights to the PWN 140 by the slave device. As one example, the masterdevice may send a command to terminate the communication service overthe PWN 140, to the slave device via the communication link in operation928. In response to the command, the master device may receive a reportindicating termination of the communication service from the slavedevice.

In operation 930, the master device may re-access the PWN 140 using theNAI 210 or NSI 230 that is updated by the synchronization. If there-access to the PWN 140 is made, the master device may provide thecommunication service over the PWN 140 in operation 934.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 9, the master device may resume theblocked communication service over the PWN 140, upon receiving thereport indicating the termination of the communication service from theslave device.

In an embodiment, one master device shares NAI 210 with one slavedevice. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art thatas another example, one master device may share NAI 210 with multipleslave devices according to the procedure illustrated in FIG. 9. Inaddition, it can be assumed that one slave device receives NAI 210 fromeach of multiple master devices. In this case, one slave device mayselect one of a variety of NAI 210, and take advantage of thecommunication service over the PWN 140 using the selected NAI 210.Although in the foregoing examples, there is only one physical slavedevice assumed, said slave device, in fact, be an operative combinationof multiple slave devices, where multiple NAI is stored and selectivelyused to establish and maintain one or more communication services overthe PWN. Moreover, it is also possible for one slave device to be usedto establish multiple communication services on behalf of multiplemaster devices, each master device having transferred a correspondingNAI to the slave device. In this manner, a slave device may function asa powerful “public device” that has capability of relaying data formultiple users at a relatively high data rate.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart summarizing a control flow for operation of asystem according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 10, in operation 1010, the slave device may connect acommunication link to the master device in response to a request of theuser, or a request of the master device. For connection of thecommunication link, the slave device may determine whether itsconnectivity unit and a connectivity unit mounted in the master deviceare enabled. The slave device may determine whether the slave device isconnectable to the master device. The communication link may include awireless link that uses wireless resources, or a wired link that useswired resources such as a cable. For example, the wireless link may beconnected using a wireless communication protocol such as Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, and NFC.

The slave device may send a first signal that contains informationwhether the slave device is connectable to the master device viaconnectivity (Wi-Fi, BT, NRF, etc.). The slave device may send a secondsignal containing information whether the slave device has thecapability to be connected to the PWN 140. The first signal and thesecond signal may be identical signals, may be distinct signals, or maybe combined into one signal.

The slave device may be internally lacking access authorizationcredentials required to connect to the communication service. If theslave device connects the communication link to at least one masterdevice, the slave device may receive NAI 210 via the connectedcommunication link in operation 1012. The NAI 210 may include NSI 230and SII 220. The NSI may include RRC status information 233, NAS statusinformation 237, and the like. The slave device will use the RRC statusinformation 233 to make a seamless connection to the PWN 140. The slavedevice will use the NAS information 237, during authentication for anaccess to the PWN 140. The SII 220 may include the entire SII or partialSII, which is recorded in the SIM card of the master device. The partialSII may be any one of an ICCID 225, an IMSI 221, a GUTI 229, and a TMSI223. The slave device may store the NSI 230 or NAI 210 in the slavedevice

Upon receiving the NAI 210 from at least one master device, the slavedevice may attempt an access to the PWN 140 using the received NAI inoperation 1014. If the access to the PWN 140 is successful, the slavedevice may provide the communication service over the public PWN 140 inoperation 1016.

Upon occurrence of a periodic or predetermined event, the slave devicemay perform synchronization on the changed NAI (e.g., NSI 230, modemstatus information) with the at least one master device in operation1018. The slave device may generate and store updated NSI 230 in theslave device in accordance with the connection of the communicationservice over the PWN 140 in the slave device. The synchronization forthe NAI 210 may be performed on the assumption that a communication linkis connected between the slave device and the at least one masterdevice. The predetermined event may correspond to at least one of aninter-cell handover, a change in cell identification information 231, achange in TMSI 223, a change in physical proximity between the masterdevice and slave device, a change in a power condition for one of themaster device and the slave device, and a change in communication linkconnectivity between the master device and the slave device.

The slave device may be in stand-alone mode or relay mode. If the slavedevice is in stand-alone mode, the slave device replaces the masterdevice and the slave device accesses the PWN 140 on behalf of the masterdevice and the slave device receives data from the PWN 140. The NAI 210is synchronized between the slave device and the master device, but datais not synchronized (e.g., uplink data, downlink data) between the slavedevice and master device.

In operation 1020, if the slave device is in relay mode, the slavedevice relays data received via the communication service to the masterdevice. In operation 1022, if the slave device is in relay mode, theslave device relays data received via the master device to thecommunication service. This is in addition to the NAI 210 beingsynchronized between the slave device and the master device. The relaymode may allow multiple UE (e.g., master device) to uplink data to anddownlink data from the PWN 140 through the slave device. The relay modemay allow a UE that has an inferior characteristics (e.g., lowerperformance receiver, transmitter, or battery) to access the PWN 140through a device (e.g., slave device) that has superior characteristics(e.g., better performance receiver, transmitter, or battery).

If the communication link to at least one master device is connected,the slave device may transmit the operation data (e.g., downlink data)received from the PWN 140 to at least one master device via thecommunication link. The slave device may transmit the operation data(e.g., uplink data) received from the at least one master device, to thePWN via the communication link.

In operation 1024, the slave device may monitor whether a request torelease the access to the PWN 140 occurs. The release of the access tothe PWN 140 may be requested by the user, requested by the masterdevice, or requested through the PWN 140 (e.g., paging from the PWN). Ifthe release of the access to the PWN 140 is requested by the masterdevice, the slave device may report the release of the access to the PWN140. The slave device may report the release of access by sending atermination indication to the master device via the communication link.Upon receiving an access release request, the slave device may releasethe access to the PWN 140 in operation 1022.

FIG. 11 is an operational diagram illustrating a call processingprocedure that may be used in accordance with certain embodiments of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 11, a scenario is considered in which multiple UE(e.g., one master device 1110 and one slave device 1140) respond to thepaging of a specific subscriber by a base station 1120.

In operation 1112, the base station 1120 may receive paging from aMobility Management Entity (MME) 1130. The paging may include SII 220(e.g., TMSI 223) for identifying a UE to be paged. In operations 1114and 1116, the base station 1120 may determine a UE to be paged based onthe SII 220, and page the determined UE. The base station 1120 mayhandle only one paging based on the SII 220, instead of paging themaster device 1110 and the slave device 1140 independently.

The master device 1110 and the slave device 1140 may both receive thepaging by the base station 1120. To this end, it should be assumed thatthe master device 1110 provides the NAI 210 to the slave device 1140.For example, it can be assumed that the master device 1110 and the slavedevice 1140 have the same TMSI 223.

In operations 1122 and 1124, the master device 1110 and the slave device1140 may transmit a random access preamble to the base station 1120 inresponse to the paging of the base station 1120.

Upon receiving the random access preamble from the multiple UE (e.g.,one master device 1110 and one slave device 1140), the base station 1120may determine one UE, to which it will create an RRC connection, fromamong the multiple UE in operation 1126. Only one UE may be able toaccess the base station 1120 with a single SII 220. In other words, ifmore than one UE attempt to connect to the PWN 140, only one will beallowed to connect to the PWN 140. The master device may have higherpriority if the base station 1120 receives multiple responses from UEwith the same SII 220. The base station 1120 may determine one UE usingthe information that only the master device 1110 has, from among thecomponents of SII 220. The unique information that only the masterdevice 1110 has may include an IMSI 221 and the like. To this end, it ispreferable that the master device 1110 inserts the information (e.g.,TMSI 223) temporarily generated for an access to the PWN 140 (e.g., thecellular network), rather than the unique information (e.g., IMSI 221)for the subscriber, into the NAI 210 provided to the slave device 1140.

If the base station selects one UE, the base station 1120 may create anRRC connection to the selected UE in operation 1128.

FIG. 12 is a general flowchart summarizing a control flow that may beused in conjunction with a base station in the context of certainembodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 12, in operation 1210, the base station may monitorwhether a response is received from multiple UE in response to paging.The response may be considered as an access request from the multipleUE. In operation 1212, the base station may select one UE to which itwill create an RRC connection, from among the multiple UE from which aresponse is received.

For example, the base station may determine one UE using the informationthat only the master device has. The unique information that only themaster device has may include an IMSI 221 and the like. To this end, themaster device may insert the information (e.g., TMSI 223) temporarilygenerated for an access to the PWN 140 (e.g., the cellular network),rather than the unique information (e.g., IMSI 221) for the subscriber,into the network access information provided to the slave device.

If the base station selects one UE, the base station may create an RRCconnection to the selected UE and provide a communication service forthe selected UE based on the created RRC connection, in operation 1214.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D and 13E (collectively, FIGS. 13A to 13E) arerespective block diagrams illustrating various components of a UEaccording to embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIGS. 13A to 13E illustrate examples of implementation for a deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, thecomponents packaged in application processor (AP) chips 1310A, 1310B,1310C and 1310D may differ depending on the examples of theimplementation in FIGS. 13A to 13E. The AP chips 1310A, 1310B, 1310C and1310D may each be one semiconductor chip. The AP chips 1310A, 1310B,1310C and 1310D may each have a structure in which a CPU 1311 iscombined with multiple units via a bus 1312. The units connected to theCPU 1311 via the BUS 1312 may be different from each other in FIGS. 13Ato 13E. For example, the AP chip may or may not include a DRAM and a CP(e.g., a modem) as one package. FIG. 13A illustrates an example of thestructure in which a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) are disposed externalto the AP chip, and FIGS. 13B to 13E illustrate examples of thestructure in which a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) are disposed internalto the AP chip. Although not illustrated, obviously, the device may havea structure in which only one of the DRAM and the CP (e.g., the modem)constitute one package together with the AP chip.

The four additional pictures according to the FIGS. 13B, 13C, 13D, and13E are added for SoC-related contents supplement. It is applicable ifthere is a demand for the small form-factor chip in field of Wearableand IoT.

FIG. 13A illustrates an example of a device having a structure in whichan AP, a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) are separated, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. However, a DRAM 1314 mayconstitute one package together with the AP chip 1310A.

Referring to FIG. 13A, the AP chip 1310A may have a structure in whichthe CPU 1311 is connected to an SMC 1313, a DMC 1314, and communicationIFs 1315 and 1316 via the bus 1312. The communication IF 1315 mayconnect a modem chip (e.g., CP) 1340 disposed external to the AP chip1310A to the CPU 1311, and the communication IF 1316 may connect aconnectivity chip 1350 disposed internal to the AP chip 1310A to the CPU1311. The SMC 1313 may connect a flash memory (or a non-volatile memory(NVM)) 1320 disposed external to the AP chip 1310A to the CPU 1311, andthe DMC 1314 may connect a DRAM 1330 disposed internal to the AP chip1301A to the CPU 1311.

The device having the proposed structure may operate as one of a masterdevice and a slave device. The master device may have a SIM card, orhave a structure replacing the SIM card, and may perform an operation oftransmitting NAI to at least one slave device. The slave device may havea structure for managing NAI, and may perform an operation of accessinga specific public network using the NAI provided from the master device.

When the device operates as a master device, the modem chip 1340 mayobtain NAI from the information written in an NVM/SIM 1360. The modemchip 1340 may deliver the obtained NAI to the communication IF 1315. Thecommunication IF 1315 may deliver the NAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus1312. The CPU 1311 may provide the NAI to the communication IF 1316 viathe bus 1312. The communication IF 1316 may deliver the NAI to theconnectivity chip 1350 that is provided outside the AP chip 1310A. Theconnectivity chip 1350 may transmit the NAI to at least one slave devicebased on a predetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

When the device operates as a slave device, the connectivity chip 1350may receive the NAI that is transmitted from the master device based onthe predetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivitychip 1350 may deliver the received NAI to the communication IF 1316. Thecommunication IF 1316 may deliver the NAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus1312. The CPU 1311 may provide the NAI to the communication IF 1315 viathe bus 1312. The communication IF 1315 may deliver the NAI to the modemchip 1340 that is provided outside the AP chip 1310A. The modem chip1340 may write the NAI provided from the AP chip 1310A in the NVM 1360.In this case, the modem chip 1340 may obtain the NAI written in the NVM1360, and access a specific public network using the obtained NAI.

In its operation the device of FIG. 13A may perform the following steps.(1) The communication processor (CP) disposed on the modem chip 1340 mayinitiate a network registration procedure using (e.g.,) the NAI storedin one of DRAM memory 1330, NVM 1320, or a register associated with themodem chip 11340. (2) Once the network registration procedure issuccessful, the CP may then store the successfully-used NAI in theNVM/SIM 1360. (3) Thereafter, upon receiving a mobility state transferrequest in the AP chip 1310A, connectivity between the device andanother device may be established via a communication link using theconnectivity chip 1350. (4) In conjunction with the connectivityresponsive to the mobility state transfer request, the stored NAI may befetched from the NVM/SIM 1360. (5) Then, the CP of the modem chip 1340may transfer the NAI to the another device via the communication moduleIF 1315, the bus 1312, the CPU 1311, the connectivity interface 1316,the connectivity chip 1350 and ultimately the communication linkestablished between the device of FIG. 13A and the another device.

FIG. 13B illustrates an example of a device having a structure in whichan AP chip includes a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. However, a DRAM 1318 may bedisposed external to the AP chip 1310B.

Referring to FIG. 13B, the AP chip 1310B may have a structure in whichthe CPU 1311 is connected to the SMC 1313, the DMC 1314, the modem(e.g., CP) 1317 and the communication IF 1316 via the bus 1312. Thecommunication IF 1316 may connect the connectivity chip 1350 disposedexternal to the AP chip 1310B to the CPU 1311. The modem (e.g., CP) 1317may connect the NVM/SIM 1360 disposed external to the AP chip 1310B tothe CPU 1311. The SMC 1313 may connect the flash memory (or thenon-volatile memory (NVM)) 1320 disposed external to the AP chip 1310Bto the CPU 1311. The DMC 1314 may connect the DRAM 1318 disposedinternal to the AP chip 1310B to the CPU 1311. Alternatively, the DRAM1318 may be disposed external to the AP chip 1310B.

The device having the proposed structure may operate as one of a masterdevice and a slave device. The master device may have a SIM card, orhave a structure replacing the SIM card, and may perform an operation oftransmitting NAI to at least one slave device. The slave device may havea structure for managing NAI, and may perform an operation of accessinga specific public network using the NAI provided from the master device.

When the device operates as a master device, the modem 1317 may obtainNAI from the information written in an NVM/SIM 1360 that is disposedexternal to the AP chip 1310B. The modem 1317 may deliver the obtainedNAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus 1312. The CPU 1311 may provide the NAIto the communication IF 1316 via the bus 1312. The communication IF 1316may deliver the NAI to the connectivity chip 1350 that is providedoutside the AP chip 1310B. The connectivity chip 1350 may transmit theNAI to at least one slave device based on a predetermined communicationscheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

The other case, the modem 1317 may obtain NAI from the informationwritten in the NVM/SIM 1360. The modem 1317 may deliver the obtained NAIto the communication IF 1316 via the bus 1312. The communication IF 1316may deliver the NAI to the connectivity chip 1350 that is providedoutside the AP chip 1310B. The connectivity chip 1350 may transmit theNAI to at least one slave device based on a predetermined communicationscheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

When the device operates as a slave device, the connectivity chip 1350may receive the NAI that is transmitted from the master device based onthe predetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivitychip 1350 may deliver the received NAI to the communication IF 1316. Thecommunication IF 1316 may deliver the NAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus1312. The CPU 1311 may deliver the NAI to the modem 1317 via the bus1312. The modem 1317 may write the received NAI in the NVM 1360 that isprovided outside the AP chip 1310B. In this case, the CPU 1311 mayobtain the NAI written in the NVM 1360 via the modem 1317 that isprovided internal to the AP chip 1310B, and access a specific publicnetwork using the obtained NAI.

The other case, the connectivity chip 1350 may receive the NAI that istransmitted from the master device based on the predeterminedcommunication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivity chip 1350 maydeliver the received NAI to the communication IF 1316. The communicationIF 1316 may deliver the NAI to the modem 1317 via the bus 1312.

The modem 1317 may obtain NAI from the information written in theNVM/SIM 1360, and access a specific public network using the obtainedNAI.

FIG. 13C illustrates another example of a device having a structure inwhich an AP chip includes a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. However, a DRAM 1318 may bedisposed external to the AP chip 1310C.

Referring to FIG. 13C, the AP chip 1310C may have a structure in whichthe CPU 1311 is connected to the SMC 1313, the DMC 1314, the modem(e.g., CP) 1317 and the connectivity unit 1319 via the bus 1312. Themodem (e.g., CP) 1317 may connect the NVM/SIM 1360 disposed external tothe AP chip 1310C to the CPU 1311. The SMC 1313 may connect the flashmemory (or a non-volatile memory (NVM)) 1320 disposed external to the APchip 1310C to the CPU 1311. The DMC 1314 may connect the DRAM 1318disposed internal to the AP chip 1310C to the CPU 1311. Alternatively,the DRAM 1318 may be disposed external to the AP chip 1310C.

The device having the proposed structure may operate as one of a masterdevice and a slave device. The master device may have a SIM card, orhave a structure replacing the SIM card, and may perform an operation oftransmitting NAI to at least one slave device. The slave device may havea structure for managing NAI, and may perform an operation of accessinga specific public network using the NAI provided from the master device.

When the device operates as a master device, the modem 1317 may obtainNAI from the information written in an NVM/SIM 1360 that is disposedexternal to the AP chip 1310C. The modem 1317 may deliver the obtainedNAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus 1312. The CPU 1311 may provide the NAIto the connectivity unit 1319 via the bus 1312. The connectivity unit1319 may transmit the NAI to at least one slave device based on apredetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

The other case, the modem 1317 may obtain NAI from the informationwritten in an NVM/SIM 1360 that is disposed external to the AP chip1310C. The modem 1317 may deliver the obtained NAI to the connectivityunit 1319 via the bus 1312. The connectivity unit 1319 may transmit theNAI to at least one slave device based on a predetermined communicationscheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

When the device operates as a slave device, the connectivity unit 1319may receive the NAI that is transmitted from the master device based onthe predetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivityunit 1319 may deliver the received NAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus 1312.The CPU 1311 may deliver the NAI to the modem 1317 via the bus 1312. Themodem 1317 may write the received NAI in the NVM 1360 that is providedoutside the AP chip 1310C. In this case, the CPU 1311 may obtain the NAIwritten in the NVM 1360 via the modem 1317 that is provided internal tothe AP chip 1310C, and access a specific public network using theobtained NAI.

The other case, the connectivity unit 1319 may receive the NAI that istransmitted from the master device based on the predeterminedcommunication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivity unit 1319 maydeliver the received NAI to the modem 1317 via the bus 1312. The modem1317 may write the received NAI in the NVM 1360 that is provided outsidethe AP chip 1310C. In this case, the modem 1317 may obtain the NAIwritten in the NVM 1360, and access a specific public network using theobtained NAI.

FIG. 13D illustrates another example of a device having a structure inwhich an AP chip includes a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. However, a DRAM 1318 may bedisposed external to the AP chip 1310D.

Referring to FIG. 13D, the AP chip 1310D may have a structure in whichthe CPU 1311 is connected to the SMC 1313, the DMC 1314, the modem(e.g., the CP) 1317, and the connectivity unit 1319 via the bus 1312.The modem (e.g., CP) 1317 may connect the NVM 1360 disposed internal tothe AP chip 1310D to the CPU 1311. The SMC 1313 may connect the flashmemory (non-volatile memory (NVM)) 1320 disposed external to the AP chip1310D to the CPU 1311. The DMC 1314 may connect the DRAM 1318 disposedinternal to the AP chip 1310D to the CPU 1311. Alternatively, the DRAM1318 may be disposed external to the AP chip 1310D.

The device having the proposed structure may operate as one of a masterdevice and a slave device. When the device operates as a master device,the master device may perform an operation of transmitting NAI to atleast one slave device by using the NVM 1360 on behalf of the SIM card.The slave device may have a structure for managing the NAI, and performan operation of accessing a specific public network using the NAIprovided from the master device.

When the device operates as a master device, the modem 1317 may obtainNAI from the information written in the NVM 1360 that is providedinternal to the AP chip 1310D. The modem 1317 may deliver the obtainedNAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus 1312. The CPU 1311 may provide the NAIto the connectivity unit 1319 via the bus 1312. The connectivity unit1319 may transmit the NAI to at least one slave device based on apredetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

The other case, the modem 1317 may obtain NAI from the informationwritten in the NVM 1360 that is provided internal to the AP chip 1310D.The modem 1317 may deliver the obtained NAI to the connectivity unit1319 via the bus 1312. The connectivity unit 1319 may transmit the NAIto at least one slave device based on a predetermined communicationscheme (e.g., Wi-Fi).

When the device operates as a slave device, the connectivity unit 1319may receive the NAI that is transmitted from the master device based onthe predetermined communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivityunit 1319 may deliver the received NAI to the CPU 1311 via the bus 1312.The CPU 1311 may deliver the NAI to the modem 1317 via the bus 1312. Themodem 1317 may write the received NAI in the NVM 1360 that is providedinternal to the AP chip 1310D. In this case, the CPU 1311 may obtain theNAI written in the NVM 1360 via the modem 1317 that is provided internalto the AP chip 1310D, and access a specific public network using theobtained NAI.

The other case, the connectivity unit 1319 may receive the NAI that istransmitted from the master device based on the predeterminedcommunication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi). The connectivity unit 1319 maydeliver the received NAI to the modem 1317 via the bus 1312. The modem1317 may write the received NAI in the NVM 1360 that is providedinternal to the AP chip 1310D. In this case, the modem 1317 may obtainthe NAI written in the NVM 1360, and access a specific public networkusing the obtained NAI.

FIG. 13E illustrates another example of a device having a structure inwhich an AP chip includes a DRAM and a CP (e.g., a modem) according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. However, a DRAM 1318 may bedisposed external to the AP chip 1310E.

The device shown in FIG. 13E may be the same in structure as the deviceshown in FIG. 13D. However, the NVM/SIM may be provided internal to theAP chip 1310E, and/or external to the AP chip 1310E. In this case,another component (e.g., the DRAM 1318 and the like) may perform thefunction corresponding to the NVM/SIM. In this case, the detailedoperations in which the device operates as a master device or a slavedevice may be the same as described above, so a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of an SoC corresponding to an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, in the SoC corresponding to the IoT device, all ofthe function blocks or a combination of some of the function blocks maybe configured as one chip. Herein, a modem 1422, a connectivity module1450, a DRAM 1480, a flash memory (NVM) 1490 and the like may beconfigured by a separate chip.

An AP 1410 may control an operation by the components included in theSoC. The modem 1422 may perform the overall operation for cellularcommunication such as 3G, LTE and the like. The modem 1422 may include aCP 1424, an internal memory 1426 and other H/W. The internal memory 1426may support a fast operation of a communication protocol.

A memory interface 1430 may perform the overall operation forinformation exchange with the DRAM 1480 and/or the flash memory (NVM)1490. A peripheral interface 1440 may perform communication with atleast one external device. The connectivity module 1450 may performwireless communication with at least one external device based on apredetermined wireless protocol. A communication scheme defined by thepredetermined wireless protocol may include Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS and thelike. A Network on Chip (NOC) 1460 may serve as an interface forinformation exchange between the components included in the SoC.

In addition, the SoC may further include thereon an audio subsystem1472, a system timer 1474, a security module 1476, a multimedia module1478 and the like.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a boot sequence operation in an SoCaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15, an AP may initialize an internal ROM code (e.g.,clock and/or stack) after initiating its operation ({circle around(1)}), and hold a reset signal for at least one CP ({circle around(2)}).

The AP may copy images of bootloaders BL1 and BL2 of APs from anexternal memory (e.g., flash memory) to an internal memory (e.g., SRAM)({circle around (3)}). The external boot device (e.g., flash, USB,serial flash and the like) may set the environment by Operating Mode(OM) pins. The images may be checked based on an AP code signature. Inthe BL1 or BL2, the AP_CPU may initialize a DRM controller. The imagesmay be moved to a DRAM. After booted, the AP_CPU may initiate the use ofthe DRAM.

The AP_CPU may copy CP codes from the external memory (e.g., flashmemory) to the internal memory (i.e., internal SRAM) ({circle around(4)}). The AP_CPU may allocate a memory area for CP code/data/heap({circle around (5)}). The AP may generate a CP rest signal ({circlearound (6)}). At least one CP boot sequencer may initiate the CP system({circle around (7)}). The at least one CP boot sequencer may copy a CPbootloader code from the CP Internal SRAM (IRAM) to a private area ofthe DRAM ({circle around (8)}).

A CP_PMU may generate a CP_CPU reset signal ({circle around (9)}). TheCP_CPU may start an operation of a CP bootloader code from the IRAM ofthe CP side ({circle around (10)}). The CP_CPU may drive the CP codewith data in the private area of the DRAM ({circle around (11)}).

An operation in the CP_CPU will be described in detail below to allow aslave device to connect with the PWN based on the above-described SoCand boot sequence operation according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

In order for the slave device to connect with the PWN, NAI (all or someof RRC, NSI, SII and the like) may be required. To this end, a CP_CPU ofthe master device may run an operation of delivering the NAI to theslave device using a mobile state transfer layer (CP's code). In theslave device, the NAI of the master device, which is required forconnection to the PWN, may be stored even in SIM, NVM or DRAM.

In order to deliver the NAI to the slave device using the mobile statetransfer layer (CP's code), the CP_CPU may use one of the following bootsequence methods of the SoC.

In a first method, the master device may load the mobile state transferlayer (CP's code) in accordance with the processes {circle around (4)}and {circle around (5)}, and then additionally load it into the CPthrough the processes {circle around (6)}, {circle around (7)} and{circle around (8)}. If it is necessary to deliver the NAI to the slavedevice, the master device may deliver the NAI to the slave devicethrough the processes {circle around (9)} and {circle around (10)}. Theprocesses {circle around (9)} and {circle around (10)} correspond to aprocess in which the CP_CPU may operate the mobile state transfer layer(CP's code) that is loaded on the IRAM through the processes {circlearound (6)}, {circle around (7)} and {circle around (8)}.

In a second method, the master device may load the mobile state transferlayer (CP's code) that is written in the flash memory, into apredetermined area of the DRAM or the internal memory through theprocesses {circle around (4)} and {circle around (5)}. If it isnecessary to deliver the NAI to the slave device, the master device maydeliver the NAI to the slave device through the process {circle around(11)}. The process {circle around (11)} corresponds to a process inwhich the CP_CPU may drive the mobile state transfer layer (CP's code)that is loaded on the DRAM after the process {circle around (5)}.

In a third method, if it is necessary to deliver the NAI to the slavedevice while the mobile state transfer layer (CP's code) is not loadedon the DRAM (a memory in which a program can be run), the master devicemay deliver the NAI to the slave device in accordance with the proposalin the second method.

For the delivery of the NAI in accordance with the proposed threemethods, a method of outputting an output signal including the NAIgenerated by the CP_CPU to the outside using the mobile state transferlayer (CP's code) may be used. For example, in the CP_CPU, the NAI maybe output to the outside of the modem (or SoC) through the connectivityor cable, without passing through the AP. In addition, in the CP_CPU,the NAI may be output to the outside of the modem (or SoC) through theconnectivity or cable, passing through the AP. As described above, ifthe delivery of the NAI (all or some of RRC, NSI, SII and the like) fromthe master device to the slave device is required in order for the slavedevice to connect with the PWN, the mobile state transfer layer (CP'scode) stored in the NVM may be run by the CP or the CP_CPU of the SoC.In order to run the mobile state transfer layer (CP's code) stored inthe NVM, the proposed approaches (a), (b) and (c) may be used. Throughthe running of the mobile state transfer layer (CP's code) by the CP orthe CP_CPU of the SoC, the NAI may be delivered from the master deviceto the slave device in the form of a signal. For the delivery of thesignal including the NAI, the mobile state transfer layer (CP's code)may be used.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating in one example variousprotocol stack layers of a UE according to certain embodiments of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 16, an example 1610 of protocol stack components of aUE is shown. The protocol stack components may include one or more of afirst layer 1620, a second layer 1630, a third layer 1640, and a fourthlayer 1650.

The first layer 1620 may comprise a physical layer 1622 that may carryall information from the medium access layer (MAC) transport channelsover the air interface.

The second layer 1630 may comprise one or more of a MAC 1632, a radiolink control (RLC) 1634, and a packet data convergence control (PDCP)1636. The MAC 1632 may be responsible for mapping between logicalchannels and transport channels. The RLC 1634 may be responsible fortransfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ,concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs. The PDCP 1636may be responsible for header compression and decompression of IP data,transfer of data (e.g., user plane or control plane), and maintenance ofPDCP sequence numbers (SNs).

A third layer 1640 may comprise one or more of the RRC 1642 and the NAS237. The RRC 1642 may include broadcast of system information related toNAS 237, AS, paging, establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC1642 connection between the UE, security functions including keymanagement, establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release ofpoint to point radio bearers. The NAS 1644 may be the highest stratum ofthe control plane before the mobile state transfer layer between the UEand MME 1130. The NAS 1644 may support the mobility of the UE and thesession management procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivitybetween the UE and a PWN 140.

A fourth layer 1650 may comprise the mobile state transfer layer 1652.If the UE is a master device, the mobile state transfer layer 1652 maytransfer the NAI 210 saved in the SIM of the master device to a slavedevice. If the UE is a slave device, the mobile state transfer layer1652 may receive the NAI 210 from a master device to save in the NVM ofthe slave device.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating in one example a M2M mobilestate transfer protocol 1700 via the mobile state transfer layeraccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 17, an example of M2M mobile state transfer protocol1700 includes a slave device 1720, a master device 1730, a base station1740 (e.g., eNB), and MME 1750.

The master device 1730 is connects to the base station 1740 with the RRC1732, 1741, PDCP 1733, 1742, RLC 1734, 1743, MAC 1735, 1744, and SII1736, 1745. The master device 1730 connects to the MME 1750 with the NAS1731, 1751. The mobile state transfer layer 1752 transfers the NAS 1721,1731, 1751, RRC 1722, 1732, 1741, SII 1726, 1736, 1745, and applicationdata 1710A, 1710B from the master device 1730 to the slave device 1720via the communication link (e.g., Wi-Fi, BT, NFC). The slave device 1720then contains the NAI 210 in order to connect to the PWN 140.

FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C are respective examples of control and dataplanes of a slave device 1820 operating in stand-alone mode and relaymode in accordance with certain embodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 18A, 1800A is an example of the control plane of theslave device 1820 in either stand-alone or relay mode. One the masterdevice 1810 has transferred the NAI 210 (e.g., NAS 1811, 1821, RRC 1812,1822, and SII 1816, 1826) to the slave device 1820, the slave device1820 may replace the master device 1810. Example 1800A shows the controlplane of the slave device 1820 in both stand-alone mode and relay mode.The slave device 1820 is connected to the base station 1830 with the RRC1822, 1831, PDCP 1823, 1832, RLC 1824, 1833, MAC 1825, 1834, and SII1826, 1835 and the slave device 1820 is connected to the MME 1840 withthe NAS 1821, 1841. The slave device 1820 accesses the PWN 140 (e.g.,base station 1830, MME 1840) on behalf of the master device 1810. Theslave device 1820 sends updated NAS 1811, 1821 and RRC 1812, 1822 to themaster device 1810.

Referring to FIG. 18B, 1800B is an example of the data plane of the dataplane of the slave device in stand-alone mode. The slave device 1850receives application data 1851 from the PWN 140 (e.g., base station1860, MME). The slave device 1850 does not relay application data 1851to the master device.

Referring to FIG. 18C, 1800C is an example of the data plane of the dataplane of the slave device in relay mode. The slave device 1880 receivesapplication data 1881 from the PWN 140 (e.g., base station 1890, MME).The slave device 1880 transfers application data 1881 from the PWN 140(e.g., base station 1890, MME) via the communication link (e.g., Wi-Fi,BT, NFC, etc.) to the master device 1870. The slave device 1880 acts asa moving base-station.

If the slave is in relay mode, the mobile state transfer layer 1652transfers application data 1881, 1871 between the slave device 1880 andthe master device 1870 via the communication link. If the slave deviceis in stand-alone mode, the mobile state transfer layer 1652 does nottransfer application data 1881, 1871 between the slave device 1880 andthe master device 1870.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of implementation in which one NAI isshared by multiple devices according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 19, one master device 1910 may have a SIM cardincluding subscriber identification information and the like, and twoslave devices 1920 and 1930 may not have a SIM card. The one masterdevice 1910 and the two slave devices 1920 and 1930 are each assumed tosupport D2D communication. Among the two slave devices, the first slavedevice 1920 may be a smart watch, and the second slave device 1930 maybe a vehicle.

The master device 1910 may hand over the mobile state to the firstand/or second slave devices 1920 and 1930 in operations 1940 and 1960.For example, handing over the mobile state may correspond to anoperation that the master device 1910 provides the NAI to the slavedevices.

Upon receiving the mobile state that is handed over, the first and/orsecond slave devices 1920 and 1930 may perform mobile statesynchronization with the master device 1910 in operations 1950 and 1970,which allows the master device 1910 and the first and second slavedevices 1920 and 1930 to shave their operation states with each other.

FIG. 20 illustrates examples of various implementations according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 20, a base station 2002 may form one macro cell 2000as a service area. Heterogeneous devices may be present in the macrocell 2000. A device (e.g., a master device) with a USIM card mountedtherein may perform communication with the base station 2002 throughdirect or indirect path.

It is shown that a master device 2004 performs direct communication withthe base station 2002. In addition, there are shown three cases in whichthe master device 2004 performs communication with the base station 2002through an indirect path.

The first case is an example of implementation in which the masterdevice corresponds to a UE located in a bus. For example, master devices2014 and 2016 may be located in a bus. Each of the master devices 2014and 2016 may be connected by the D2D scheme and a relay device (EXO-US)2012 mounted in the bus. Each of the master devices 2014 and 2016 mayprovide its own USIM information to the relay device (EXO-US) 2012through a D2D connection. In this case, the relay device (EXO-US) 2012may connect the master devices 2014 and 2016 to the base station 2002using the USIM information provided from each of the master devices 2014and 2016. In other words, the relay device (EXO-US) 2012 may operate asa slave device of the master devices 2014 and 2016.

A second case is an example of implementation in which the master devicecorresponds to UE 2026 and 2028 located in a small cell 2020. Forexample, a relay device 2022 may form the small cell 2020 as a servicearea. Obviously, the relay device 2022 may perform cellularcommunication with the base station 2002.

The first master device 2026 may be connected to the relay device 2022based on a predetermined wireless communication scheme to provide itsown USIM information to the relay device 2022. In this case, the relaydevice 2022 may be a slave device of the first master device 2026, andthe relay device 2022 may connect the first master device 2026 to thebase station 2002 using the USIM information.

A heterogeneous device (EXO-UE) 2024 may be present in the small cell2020. The heterogeneous device (EXO-UE) 2024 may be connected to thesmall cell 2020 based on a communication scheme such as D2D.

The second master device 2028 may be connected to the heterogeneousdevice (EXO-UE) 2024 based on a predetermined wireless communicationscheme to provide its own USIM information to the heterogeneous device(EXO-UE) 2024. In this case, the heterogeneous device (EXO-UE) 2024 mayconnect the second master device 2028 to the base station 2002 throughthe relay device 2022 using the USIM information.

A third case is an example of implementation in which the master devicecorresponds to a UE located in a vehicle. For example, a master device2034 may be located in a vehicle. The master device 2034 may beconnected to a slave device (EXO-US) 2032 mounted in the vehicle by theD2D scheme. The master device 2034 may provide its own USIM informationto the slave device (EXO-US) 2032 through a D2D connection. In thiscase, the slave device (EXO-US) 2032 may connect the master device 2034to the base station 2002 using the USIM information that is providedfrom the master device 2034.

In one embodiment, the base station 2002, the slave devices 2012, 2022and 2032, the relay device 2022 forming the small cell 2020, and theslave device 2024 may have a cellular connectivity. The slave devices2012, 2022, 2032 and 2024 and the master devices 2014, 2016, 2028 and2034 may have a local connectivity.

FIG. 21 illustrates a network structure in which an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be implemented.

Referring to FIG. 21, the network structure may include (a) a structurein which a UE may directly access a macro cell, (b) a structure in whicha UE may access a macro cell via a small cell, and (c) a structure inwhich a UE may access a small cell via a slave device (e.g.,heterogeneous UE (HetUE)), and access a macro cell via the small cell.The UE and the HetUE may be connected to each other based on M2M, orlocal or personal area network (e.g., Wi-Fi, BT, etc), and the othercomponents may be connected to each other based on a cellular network(e.g., 3G, LTE, etc).

FIG. 22 illustrates the effects expected by an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, i.e., illustrates the gains from the perspective ofheterogeneous UE (HetUE) 2200, subscribers 2210, operators 2220, andchipset venders and UE manufacturers 2230.

Referring to FIG. 22, the subscribers 2210 may reduce the costs ofutilizing the communication network such as the cellular network, andmay enjoy data services with low-cost devices. In addition, thesubscribers 2210 may not only increase the user's throughput and reducethe power consumption of portable devices, but also simplify theon-demand installation and reselect devices without interruption.

The chipset venders &UE manufacturers 2230 may enable discriminatoryselection for the Exo-skeleton features, may not require changes insilicon, and may improve the UE performances (w.o. less stringentbattery & size limits).

The operators 2220 may obtain high revenue due to the increase intraffic, and support data services for low-cost devices. In addition,the operators 2220 may enable the higher spectral efficiency, the lowdeployment cost, no impact on the network and the possible fasttechnology adoption.

Obviously, various embodiments proposed in the present disclosure may beapplied based on Internet of Tings (IoT) devices. The IoT devices may beany devices that can exchange information with at least one otherdevice. The IoT devices may have no limitation on the type of resourcesthat the IoT devices can use for information exchange with otherdevices. In other words, the IoT devices may support informationexchange based on at least one of wired resources and wirelessresources.

The IoT devices may include an accessible interface, for informationexchange. The accessible interface may include a modem communicationinterface that can access at least one of a wired local area network(LAN), a wireless local area network and a mobile cellular network. Thewireless local area network may be a network that can support Bluetooth(BT), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee and the like, and the mobilecellular network may be a network that can support 3rd Generation (3G),Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the like.

FIGS. 23A and 23B illustrate an example of an IoT system according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 23A, an IoT system 2300A may include multiple IoTdevices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340, an access point (AP) 2350, a gateway(GW) 2360, a communication network (CN) 2370, at least one server, andthe like. The at least one server may include a management server 2380.

The multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 may be divided intoactive devices and passive devices. The active devices may be devicesthat can generate an operating voltage by themselves, and operate basedthereon. For example, the active devices may be refrigerators, airconditioners, telephones, cars and the like. The passive devices may bedevices that operate based on the power applied by external devices andthe like. For example, the passive devices may include Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) tags or NFC tags.

According to one embodiment, the IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340may collect data using sensors, and transmit the collected data toexternal devices based on a predetermined communication protocol. TheIoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 may receive control informationand/or data based on a predetermined communication protocol. Thepredetermined communication protocol may be a protocol that supportscommunication services based on the wired/wireless local area network,the Internet, or the mobile cellular network.

The IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 may directly access thecommunication network without the help of other devices in accordancewith the predetermined communication protocol. For example, the IoTdevice 2340 such as a vehicle may directly access the communicationnetwork 2370 based on the predetermined communication protocol. Theother IoT devices 2310, 2320 and 2330 may access the communicationnetwork 2370 with the help of other devices. Among the IoT devices 2310,2320 and 2330 that can access the communication network 2370 with thehelp of other devices, the easy-to-move IoT device 2330 such as a smartphone, a tablet PC and the like may support a communication protocolthat is used to directly access the communication network 2370.

The AP 2330 may connect the multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320 and 2330 tothe communication network 2370 via the GW 2360, or may connect them toat least one other IoT device. The AP 2330 may be providedindependently, or may be embedded in another IoT device.

As an example, the AP 2330 may be embedded in a television. In thiscase, the user may monitor or control at least one IoT device connectedto the AP 2330, on a display of the television.

As another example, a smart phone may perform a function of an AP inaddition to its own unique function. In this case, the smart phone maybe connected to the communication network 2370 in order to perform itsown unique function, and may also connect the IoT device to thecommunication network 2370 or other IoT devices.

The GW 2360 may change the protocol so as to connect the AP 2350 to theexternal communication network 2370 (e.g., the Internet or the publiccommunication network). The GW 2360 may connect at least one IoT devicethat is connected via the AP 2350, to the external communication network2370. The GW 2360, together with the AP 2350, may be configured as onedevice, or may be incorporated into one device. The AP 2350 may performa function of a first gateway, and the GW 2360 may perform a function ofa second gateway.

The GW 2360 may be provided independently, or may be embedded in anotherIoT device. As an example, the smart phone may perform a function of aGW in addition to its own unique function. In this case, the smart phonemay be connected to the communication network 2370 in order to performits own unique function, and may also connect the IoT device to thecommunication network 2370.

The communication network 2370 may include the Internet and/or thepublic communication network. The public communication network may beclassified into a wired communication network and a wirelesscommunication network depending on the type of the resources supportedby the public communication network. The public communication networkmay include a mobile cellular network. As an example, the communicationnetwork 2370 may provide a path (e.g., a channel or the like) via whichthe communication network 2370 can deliver the information collected bythe IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 to a server 2390 or thitherdevices.

The server 2390 may collect the information provided by the IoT devices2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 through the communication network 2370. Theserver 2390 may store and manage the collected information based on apredetermined format, or reproduce the information through analysis. Theserver 2390 may provide the analysis result and/or the reproducedinformation to another server and/or IoT device through thecommunication network 2370.

For example, the server 2390 may collect information about the user'sblood glucose from the IoT device in real time. In this case, the server2390 may analyze the user's health condition based on the collectedblood glucose information, and manage the analysis result and/or reportthe analysis result to the IoT device. In order to analyze the user'shealth condition, the server 2390 may refer to a predetermined glucosethreshold and the existing health condition analysis results. As aresult of the analysis, if it is determined that the user is in acritical state, the server 2390 may transmit information indicating theuser's risk situation to a pre-registered IoT device.

The management server 2380 may operate the communication network 2370and/or perform subscriber management and the like. For example, themanagement server 2380 may operate and manage the public communicationnetwork, and allow only the IoT device of a previously allowedsubscriber to access the public communication network operated by themanagement server 2380.

The multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 may be grouped. As anexample, the multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 may begrouped in consideration of their unique characteristics. In otherwords, the multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340 may be groupedas a home gadget group 2310, an household appliance group 2320, anentertainment group 2330, a transport group (or vehicle group) 2340, andthe like. In addition, the multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and2340 may be grouped as a temperature control group for controlling theroom temperature, a home appliance group (that is divided into a largehome appliance group and a small home appliance group depending on thepower consumption), a cleaning group for controlling room clearing(e.g., air cleaning and floor cleaning), a lighting group forcontrolling indoor lightings, and an entertainment group for controllingentertainment devices (e.g., a TV, an audio device and the like). Thetemperature control group may include air conditioners, electricwindows, electric curtains and the like.

The IoT devices may belong to one group or multiple groups. For example,the air conditioner may belong to the large home appliance group and thetemperature control group. The smart phone may belong to the home gadgetgroup 2310 and the entertainment group 2330.

FIG. 23B illustrates an example of an IoT system that further includes adistributed server in addition to the IoT device in FIG. 23A.

Referring to FIG. 23B, an IoT network system 2300B may include variouscomponents included in the IoT network system 2300A shown in FIG. 23A.For example, the IoT network system 2300B may further include adistributed server 2390 in addition to the IoT network system 2300A.Since the components substantially the same as those in FIG. 23A aresubstantially the same in configuration and operation, a detaileddescription thereof will be omitted herein for convenience.

The distributed server 2390 may include multiple sub-servers 2390-A,2390-B and 2390-C, or may be connected to the multiple sub-servers2390-A, 2390-B and 2390-C via a backhaul link and the like. Thedistributed server 2390 may distribute the job to be processed, to atleast one sub-server 2390-A, 2390-B or 2390-C. In other words, thedistributed server 2390 may process the job to be processed, by thesub-servers 2390-A, 2390-B and 2390-C in a distributed manner, and mayperform scheduling for the distributed processing.

For example, the distributed server 2390 may analyze the request that istransmitted through the communication network 2360 by the scheduling,and may predict the amount of associated data and the amount of jobbased on the analysis result. The distributed server 2390 may distributethe requested job by communicating with at least one of the multiplesub-servers 2390-A, 2390-B and 2390-C depending on the predictionresult. In this case, the distributed server 2390 may receive statusinformation for each of the multiple sub-servers 2390-A, 2390-B and2390-C, and reflect the received status information during scheduling.The distributed sever 2390 may improve the overall performance of theIoT network system by scheduling.

In one embodiment in which reference is made to FIGS. 23A and 23B, amongthe multiple IoT devices 2310, 2320, 2330 and 2340, an IoT device thatis allowed to access the multiple communication network 2370 may delivernetwork access information to the AP 2350 or at least one IoT device. Inthis case, the AP 2350 or at least one IoT device may succeed inconnecting with the communication network 2370 based on the networkaccess information.

For example, if the AP 2350 succeeds in connecting with thecommunication network 2370 based on the network access information, theAP 2350 may connect at least one IoT device that is connected to the AP2350, to the communication network 2370. In this case, the at least oneIoT device that is connected to the AP 2350 should not necessarily havethe network access information.

If multiple IoT devices request their connections to the communicationnetwork 2370, the AP 2350 may schedule the connections. For example, theAP 2350 may determine the connection order for the multiple IoT devicesthat have requested their connections to the communication network 2370,in consideration of the priority and the like.

The AP 2350 may monitor whether the IoT device that has provided thenetwork access information is out of its service area, and control theAP device 2350 or other IoT devices to connect with the communicationnetwork 2370, based on the monitoring result. For example, if thecommunication link to the IoT device that has provided the networkaccess information is cut off (or lost), the AP 2350 may discard thenetwork access information that the AP 2350 has held. In this case, theAP 2350 may no longer be allowed to access the communication network2370.

FIG. 24 illustrates an appearance of a smart watch as an example of anIoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 24, an IoT device 2400 may include at least one sensor2410 for connecting information about the surrounding. The sensor 2410may sense at least one of ambient temperature, illuminance, UV index,speed, image information and the like. Preferably, the position wherethe sensor 2410 is mounted may be determined depending on the sensingrequired conditions.

For example, if the sensor 2410 is a sensor for measuring the user'sheart rate, the sensor 2410 should be mounted in the position where thesensor 2410 can be attached to the body part at which the user's heartrate can be measured. If the sensor 2410 is a UV sensor for measuring aUV index, the sensor 2410 should be mounted in such a manner that it isable to sense the surrounding light environment.

The IoT device 2400 may include a display 2420. The display 2420 maydisplay internal state information 2450 of the IoT device 2400. Thedisplay 2420 may include a touch sensor (not shown). In this case, thedisplay 2420 may detect the touch point, touch direction and touch typeby the user, using the touch sensor.

The display 2420 may have an input/output function and appearance foruser interface. For example, the display 2420 may display at least oneicon 2460 and an input/output menu on its screen. In this case, the usermay control the IoT device 2400 through the touch sensor and the userinterface.

The IoT device 2400 may further include a button 2430 as an inputdevice. In this case, the user may change the state of the IoT device2400 to an active state or turn on the display 2420, using the button2430. The display 2420 may be used to display the top menu of the userinterface.

The IoT device 2400 may further include a package 2440 supporting atleast one of the sensor 2410, the display 2420 and the button 2430. Thepackage 2440 may be attached to a particular target, using a support2470. For example, the support 2470 may be a wrist band.

The IoT device 2400 may have a slot (not shown) into which a SIM cardcan be inserted. The user may access the communication network based onthe information (e.g., subscriber identification information and thelike) written on the SIM card inserted into the slot of the IoT device2400, or the network access information provided from another IoTdevice.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a configuration of an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 25, an IoT device 2500 may include a processor (e.g.,application processor (AP)) 2510, a transmitter/receiver 2520, a memory2530, a display 2540, an I/O interface 2550, and a sensor 2560. The IoTdevice 2500 may have a built-in battery for internally supplying power,or further include a power supply for externally supplying power.

The transmitter/receiver 2520, which corresponds to a communicationinterface, may perform communication with external devices. Thecommunication interface 2520 may be a wireless local communicationinterface such as a local area network (LAN), Bluetooth, wirelessfidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee and the like, or a modem communicationinterface that can access a mobile cellular network such as 3rdgeneration (3G), long term evolution (LTE) and the like.

The communication interface 2520 may include a transmitter and/orreceiver. The transmitter and/or receiver may transmit and/or receiveinformation through an AP or a GW. The IoT device 2500 may transmitand/or receive control information or data by communicating with theuser or other IoT devices. In other words, the IoT device 2500 maytransmit an internal state and/or data to the outside through thetransmitter, and receive a control command and/or data from the outsidethrough the receiver.

The processor may perform an operation for information processing. Forexample, the AP 2510, which is one of the processors, may runapplications installed in the IoT device 2500 and process an operationcorresponding thereto.

The display 2540 may provide a UI to the user. In this case, the usermay control the IoT device 2500 based on the UI provided on the display2540.

The memory 2530 may store a control command code for controlling the IoTdevice 2500, control data or user data. The memory 2530 may include atleast one of a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatilememory may include at least one of various memories such as a read onlymemory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmableROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), aflash memory, a phase-change RAM (PRAM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), aresistive RAM (RRAM), a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) and the like. Thevolatile memory may include at least one of various memories such asdynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM),phase-change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM),ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) and the like.

The IoT device 2500 may further include a storage device in addition tothe memory 2530. The storage device may be a nonvolatile medium such asa hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an embeddedmultimedia card (eMMC), a universal flash storage (UFS) and the like.The storage device may store user information, collected sensinginformation and the like.

FIG. 26 illustrates another example of a configuration of an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 26, an IoT device 2600 may include an AP 2610, acommunication interface 2626, a secure module 2620, a storage device2612, a memory 2614, a display 2616, an I/O interface 2618, a data bus2636, a power supply 2630 and/or at least one sensor 2632 and 2634.

The AP 2610 may control the overall operation of the IoT device 2600.The AP 2610 may run applications that provide Internet browser, games,videos and the like. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the AP 2610 may include a single-core processor, ormulti-core processor. For example, the AP 2610 may include a multi-coreprocessor such as a dual-core processor, a quad-core processor and ahexa-core processor. According to the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 26,the AP 2610 may further include a cache memory that is disposed externalto and/or internal to the AP 2610.

The secure module 2620 may include a processor 2622 and a secure element2624. The secure module 2620 including the processor 2622 and the secureelement 2624 may be formed as one package. An internal bus INT_BUSconnecting the processor 2622 to the secure element 2624 may be formedinternal to the package. The secure element 2624 may include a functioncapable of defending the attacks (e.g., lab attacks) from the outside.Therefore, the secure element 2624 may securely store the security data.The processor 2622 may be connected to the AP 2610.

The sensor 2632 may be an image sensor for sensing images and the like.If the sensor 2632 is connected to the AP 2610, the sensor 2632 maytransmit the image information generated by image sensing to the AP2610. The image sensor 2634 may be a biosensor for sensing biometricinformation and the like. For example, the sensor 2634 may detect afingerprint, an iris pattern, a vein pattern, a heart rate, bloodglucose and the like, and generate sensing data corresponding to thedetection, and may provide the generated sensing data to the processor2622 included in the secure module 2620. However, the sensor 2632 andthe sensor 2634 are not limited to a specific sensor (e.g., an imagesensor or a biosensor), and may be any sensor such as an illuminancesensor, an acoustic sensor, an accelerometer ation sensor and the like.

The secure module 2620 and the AP 2610 may generate a session keythrough mutual authentication. For example, the secure module 2620 andthe AP 2610 may perform mutual authentication using a first certificateCT1 stored in the secure element 2624, a second certificate CT2 storedin the AP 2610, and a public key CA_PB of the certification authority,which is stored in common in the AP 2610 and the secure element 2624.

Upon succeeding in the mutual authentication, the secure module 2620 andthe AP 2610 may generate a session key using a first private key PR1stored in the secure element 2624 and a second private key PR2 stored inthe AP 2610.

The secure module 2620 may encode sensing data SSD using the generatedsession key, and transmit the encoded sensing data SSD to the AP 2610.The AP 2610 may acquire sensing data SSD by decoding the sending dataencoded by the secure module 2620, using the generated session key.

Due to the above-described operation, the IoT device 2600 may improvethe security level in accordance with the data transmission. The secureelement 2624, together with the AP 2610, may be formed as one package.

The secure module 2620 may further include the processor 2622. Theprocessor 2622 may encrypt the sensing data SSD provided from the sensor2634. The processor 2622 may control communication between the AP 2610and the secure element 2624. In this case, the secure element 2624,together with the processor 2622, may be formed as one package.

The storage device 2612 may store a boot image for booting the IoTdevice 2600. For example, the storage device 2612 may include anonvolatile memory device such as a flash memory device, an SSD and thelike.

The memory 2614 may store the data required for operation of the IoTdevice 2600. For example, the memory 2614 may include a volatile memorysuch as DRAM, SRAM and the like.

The I/O interface 2618 may include an input means such as a touch pad, akeypad, an input button and the like, and an output means such as adisplay, a speaker and the like. The power supply 2630 may supply anoperating voltage required for operation of the IoT device 2600. Thepower supply 2630 may include a power supply unit and/or a battery.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the IoT device2600 may be any mobile system such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), adigital camera, a music player, a portable game console, a navigationsystem, a laptop computer and the like.

FIG. 27 conceptually illustrates the hardware (HW) and software (SW)structure of an IoT device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 27, the IoT device may define an operation among thelayers of hardware (HW) 2710, an operating system (OS) 2720, anapplication (APPS) 2730 and a user 2740.

The hardware 2710 of the IoT device may include multiple components. Thehardware 2710 of the IoT device may include an AP 2711, a sensor 2712, amemory 2713, a communication interface 2714, an I/O interface & display2715 and the like. For example, the AP 2711, the sensor 2712, the memory2713 and the communication interface 2714 may correspond to the AP 2510,the sensor 2560, the memory 2530 and the communication interface 2520shown in FIG. 25, respectively. The I/O interface & display 2715 maycorresponds to the I/O interface 2618 and the display 2616 shown in FIG.26. The IoT device may further include the OS 2720 and/or theapplication (Apps) 2730.

The application 2730 means software (s/w) and service that implement aparticular function. The user 2740 means an object that uses theapplication 2730. The user 2740 may communicate with the application2730 through user experience (UX). The application 2730 may be made onthe basis of each service purpose, and may communicate with the user2740 through the UI corresponding to each purpose. The application 2730may perform the operation requested by the user 2740. The application2730 may call contents of an application protocol interface (API) 2716and a library 2717 under the necessity.

The API 2716 and the library 2717 may perform a macro operation that isresponsible for a specific function, and provide an interface ifcommunication with the lower layer is required. If the application 2730requests an operation from the lower layer through the API 2716 and thelibrary 2717, the API 2716 and the library 2717 may classify theincoming requests into fields of security 2713, network 2714 and manage2715.

The API 2716 and the library 2717 may operate the required layerdepending on the requested field. For example, when requesting afunction related to the network 2714, the API 2716 may transmit arequired parameter to the layer of the network 2714, and call therelated function. The network 2714 may communicate with the lower layerto perform the requested operation. If the lower layer is not present,the API 2716 and the library 2717 may directly perform the operationrequested for the network 2714.

A driver 2721 included in the OS 2720 may serve to deliver, to the layerof the H/W 2710, the request that is classified in an upper layer, whilemanaging the H/W 2710 and checking the status. If the driver 2721requests an operation from the layer of the H/W 2710, a firmware 2712included in the OS 2720 may convert the request so that the layer of theH/W 2710 may accept the request. The firmware 2712 for converting arequest and delivering the converted request to the H/W 2710 may beimplemented to be incorporated into the driver 2721 or the H/W 2710.

The IoT device may include the driver 2721 and the firmware 2712 fromthe API 2716, and may have the OS 2720 built therein for managing thewhole of the IoT device. The OS 2720 may be stored in the memory 2713 inthe form of a control command code and data. As an example, since alow-cost IoT device with a simple function is small in size of thememory, the low-cost IoT device may include control software instead ofthe OS.

The H/W 2710 may perform in-order or out-of-order processing on therequests (or commands) delivered by the driver 2721 and the firmware2712, and store the processing results in a register in the H/W 2701, orin the memory 2713 connected to the H/W 2710. The stored processingresults may be returned to the driver 2721 and the firmware 2712.

The H/W 2710 may request the operation required in the upper layer bygeneration an interrupt. If the interrupt occurs, the part of the manage2715 in the OS 2720 may check the interrupt, and then process theinterrupt by communicating with the core part of the H/W 2710. Forexample, if a character ‘R’ is input through a keyboard constituting theH/W 2710, the interrupt may be delivered to the manage 2715 in the OS2720, or may directly delivered to the core of the H/W 2710. The corepart of the H/W 2710 may output a value ‘R’ to the display through apredetermined function block.

FIG. 28 illustrates examples of services that utilize an IoT deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the IoTdevice will be assumed as a wearable IoT device.

Referring to FIG. 28, the scenarios in which IoT devices are used mayinclude a health service, a personal safety service, a social networkservice (SNS) service, an information service, a smart home service andthe like. To this end, an IoT service system 2800 may include at leastone IoT device 2810, a GW 2820, a server 2830 and at least one serviceprovider 2840, 2850 or 2860.

The IoT device 2810 may be implemented by wearable IoT devices such as asmart glass, an earphone, an electrocardiograph/photoplethysmograph(ECG/PPG) measurer, a belt, a band/watch, a blood glucose level tester,temperature-controlled clothing, shoes, a necklace and the like. Thewearable IoT devices may include a sensor for sensing the status of auser 2812, the surroundings and/or the user's command. The IoT device2810 may have a built-in battery or include a wireless chargingfunction, for power supply. The IoT device 2810 may include a wirelesscommunication function for communication with the outside.

The GW 2820 may transmit the information collected by the sensor to theserver 2830 over the communication network, or transmit the analysisinformation transmitted from the server 2830 to the IoT device. Forexample, the GW 2820 may be connected to the IoT device through ashort-range wireless communication protocol, and a smart phone capableof connecting with the wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi, 3Gor LTE may be used as the GW 2820. The GW 2820 may be connected to theserver 2830 over the Internet or the wireless communication network.

The server 2830 may generate related service information by storing oranalyzing the collected information, or provide the stored informationand/or analyzed information to the service provider 2840, 2850 or 2860.

The service provider 2840, 2850 or 2860 may analyze the collectedinformation and provide the analyzed information to the user 2812. Here,the service may refer to providing useful information, alarm andpersonal protection for the user 2812, or providing control informationof the wearable IoT device 2810.

Among the service providers, the smart home service provider 2850 mayauthenticate the user information received from the user 2812, andcontrol the IoT devices provided in the home of the user 2812 based onthe value set in the server. For example, the smart home serviceprovider 2850 may provide a smart home service for controllingheating/cooling-related IoT devices installed in the home of the user2812, IoT devices related to energy resources such as gas, water andelectricity, IoT devices related to indoor conditions such as lighting,humidity and air cleaning, and/or IoT devices related the exerciseprescription determined in consideration of the daily activity of theuser 2812.

The leisure service provider 2840 may provide a service related to theleisure activities of the user 2812. For example, the leisure serviceprovider 2840 may recommend the food and shopping information,restaurants and the like by receiving information about the physicalcondition or location of the user 2812.

The health and safety service provider 2860 may provide an emergencymedical/policing service based on the status information of the user2812. In addition, the health and safety service provider 2860 may sendan alarm to the user 2812, or deliver notes to the user 2812 based oninformation about the virus spread, and may also recommend the food anddiet information that the user 2812 should pay attention for health.

The smart glass may be worn on the face of the user 2812. The smartglass may sense the surroundings of the user 2812, the status (orcondition) of the user 2812 and a command of the user 2812 by using adry eye sensor, an eye blink sensor, an image sensor, anelectroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, a touch sensor, a voice recognitionsensor, a GPS and the like. The information sensed by the smart glassmay be transmitted to the server 2830.

The server 2830 may provide a valid service to the user 2812 based onthe sensed information. For example, the server 2830 may send, to theuser 2812, electrical stimulation information, based on which theabnormal brain waves can be treated, based on the received EEGinformation of the user 2812. In this case, the smart glass may treatthe abnormal brain waves of the user 2812 or adjust the mood of the user2812, by using the electrical stimulation information.

The earphone may be worn by the user 2812 in such a manner that theearphone is inserted into the ears or cover the ears. The earphone maysense the body information and command of the user 2812 by using atemperature sensor, an image sensor, a touch sensor and the like.

The ECG/PPG measurer may measure the ECG of the user 2812 using an ECGsensor. The belt may include a sensor for measuring the waist,respiration or obesity of the user 2812, and may also include avibration function or an electrical stimulation function for treatmentof the obesity or pain. The band/watch may include sensors related touser's body temperature, heart rate, sleep, pressure, UV, oxygensaturation, optics, gyro, GPS, PPG, ECG, skin conductivity, pedometerand the like. The band/watch may include a gas injection function or thelike for molestation combating.

The blood glucose level tester may include a sensor for measuring theblood glucose level of the user 2812. The sensor for measuring a bloodglucose level may be a non-invasive sensor. The measured blood glucoselevel may be transmitted to the server 2830 via the smart phone of theuser 2812 or the GW 2820.

The temperature-controlled clothing may include a sensor for measuringthe body temperature or ambient temperature of the user 2812. Thetemperature-controlled clothing may control the heating/cooling functionby comparing the measured temperature with a predetermined temperature.The temperature-controlled clothing may be, for example, infant or adultdiaper or underwear. The diaper or underwear may sense the status of theuser 2812 by embedding therein a skin conductivity sensor, a temperaturesensor, a strip detection sensor or a pressure sensor, and notify thereplacement time of the diaper or underwear or run the heating/coolingfunction based on the sensing results. The diaper or underwear may embedtherein thin hot wires or cooling pipes, for heating/cooling.

The shoes may include sensors for the weight of the user 2812, thepressure in each part of the sole, the air pollution in the shoes,humidity, odors, GPS and the like. The information collected by thesesensors may be transmitted to the server 2830. The server 2830 maytransmit, to the user 2812, the information such as an alarm fornotifying the posture correction of the user 2812 and the cleaning orreplacement of the shoes. An application installed in the smart phonemay perform these operations on behalf of the server 2830.

The necklace may include a sensor for sensing the respiration, pulse,body temperature, exercise, calories burned, GPS, EEG, voice, ECG, PPGand the like of the user 2812. The information collected by the sensormay be analyzed in the IoT device by itself, or transmitted to theserver 2830.

The service providers 2840, 2850 and 2860 may provide the relatedservices to the user 2812 based on the user information provided throughthe server 2830. For example, upon sensing the voice of the dog througha necklace mounted around the neck of the dog, the service provider mayprovide a voice translation service based on the sensed information. Theinformation provided by the voice translation service may be played by aspeaker built in the necklace.

The foregoing embodiment has been described merely for some usagescenarios regarding health, smart home, leisure and the like. However,the proposed IoT service system 2800 may be used in a wide range ofindustry, without being limited thereto. For example, obviously, the IoTservice system 2800 may be applied even to the services for E-commerce,logistics, building management and the like.

Multiple IoT devices for the proposed embodiment may share singlesubscriber identification information or network access information thatreplaces the subscriber identification information. For example, it canbe assumed that a smart phone is equipped with a SIM card havingsubscriber identification information and a communication link is formedbetween the smart phone and various IoT devices shown in FIG. 28. Thesmart phone may share its subscriber identification information ornetwork access information with the various IoT devices via thecommunication link. In this case, the various IoT devices may access thecommunication network based on the shared network access information,and exchange information with the sever 2830 over the communicationnetwork.

In order for the various IoT devices to access the communication networkbased on the shared network access information, scheduling for the usemay be applied. By doing so, it is possible to prevent one subscriberfrom connecting multiple IoT devices to the communication network at thesame time based on the same subscriber identification information.

FIG. 29 illustrates examples of services that utilize IoT devicesaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be assumedherein that the IoT devices are IoT devices that can be applied tovehicles.

Referring to FIG. 29, the IoT device applied to vehicles may provideusage scenarios regarding vehicle management, collision avoidance,vehicle operation service and the like. To this end, an IoT servicesystem 2900 may include one vehicle 2912 having multiple sensors. TheIoT service system 2900 may include an engine control unit (ECU) 2920, aserver 2932 and at least one service provider 2938 or 2940.

The vehicle 2912 may include multiple sensors such as engine partssensors, collision avoidance sensors, vehicle operation sensors and thelike. The engine parts sensors may include at least one of an oxygensensor, a coolant temperature sensor, a coolant level sensor, a manifoldabsolute pressure sensor (or a MAP sensor), a BARO pressure sensor(BPS), a throttle position pressure sensor (TPS), a mass airflow sensors(MAF), a vane airflow sensor, a Karman vortex airflow sensor, a knocksensor, an air temperature sensor, an exhaust gas recirculation valveposition sensor (EGR), a crankshaft position sensor (CKP), a camshaftposition sensor, an engine oil level sensor, a mission oil level sensor,a break oil level sensor.

The BPS may measure the pressure of the air and provide the measured airpressure to the ECU 2920. The ECU 2920 may correct the fuel injectionquantity, ignition timing and the like in consideration of the airpressure measured by the BPS. The MAP sensor may provide volumeinformation to the ECU 2920 using the pressure of the intake manifold.The MAF sensor may provide information about the mass of the intake airto the ECU 2920. The ECU 2920 may determine the amount of fuel using theinformation about the mass of the intake air, which is provided by theMAF sensor.

The vane airflow sensor is a sensor that is provided by connecting themoving vane to a variable resistor in the engine air intake system. TheKarman vortex airflow sensor is an airflow sensor of a hot wire type ora hot film type. The knock sensor, which is a sensor for detecting theknocking that occurs in the engine, may be a kind of an accelerationsensor. As for the exhaust gas recirculation valve position sensor(EGR), if the combustion gas has a lot of CO or HC, the oxygen sensormay provide a signal value to the ECU 2920. The ECU 2920 may deliver thesignal value to an EGR solenoid valve so that the exhaust gas may berecycled.

The crankshaft position sensor (CKP) is a sensor for detecting thenumber of revolutions of the engine and the exact position the piston.The camshaft position sensor is a sensor for controlling the fuelinjection timing and ignition timing.

The collision avoidance sensors may include at least one of an airbagcrash sensor, a front video camera, a back video camera, an infraredcamera, a multi beam laser, a long-distance radar, a short-distanceradar, and a ultrasonic sensor.

The vehicle operation sensors may include at least one of GPS, atemperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a tire pressure sensor, asteering angle sensor, a wheel speed sensor (WSS or ABS), a vehiclespeed sensor (VSS), a G-force sensor, an electromechanical steeringsystem, an electronic accelerator, and an electronic breaks.

The ECU 2920 may collect vehicle driving information 2924 received frommultiple sensors, and transmit the collected vehicle driving information2924 to the server 2932 over the communication network. The ECU 2920 andthe server 2932 may communicate (or exchange) vehicle status information2926, driver information 2928 and/or accident history information 2930with each other.

The service company 2938 may provide various services such as analysisinformation and alarms for the vehicle, referring to the vehicle statusinformation 2926, the driver information 2928 and/or the accidenthistory information 2930 stored in the server 2932. For example, thevarious services may include at least one of a road accident informationservice, a quick direction service, an accident handling notificationservice, an accident insurance premium calculation information service,a fault ratio decision information service, an emergency roadsideservice and the like. The service company 2938 may share thevehicle-related information stored in the server 2932 with a contractuser 2934. The contract user 2934 may enter into a contract with theservice company 2938 based on the shared information.

The contract user 2934 may be a vehicle manufacturer. In this case, thevehicle manufacturer may perform tasks such as vehicle recall, andestablishment of a vehicle advertising plan, based on the informationprovided from the service company 2938. The service company 2938 may bea car-sharing/transportation company. In this case, the service company2938 may provide vehicle information to the contract user 2934 andprovide a vehicle so that the contract user 2934 may drive the vehicle,or may provide a boarding service so that the contract user 2934 mayboard the vehicle.

The service company 2938 may enable access control and service functionsfor the vehicle owned by a driver 2922 by receiving personal informationof the driver 2922, which is stored in a second server 2936. Forexample, the service company 2938 may receive NFC tag information storedin a watch of the driver 2922, and compare the received NFC taginformation with NFC tag information stored in the server to release thelocking device of the vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle arrives athome of the driver 2922, the service company 2938 may transmit vehiclearrival information to the home of the driver 2922.

The public service provider 2940 may provide road accident information,roundabout information, disaster alert and the like to multiple drivers,referring to the accident history information 2930 stored in the serve2932. The public service provider 2940 may develop a plan to build asecure infrastructure based on the collected vehicle drivinginformation.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple IoTdevices mounted in the vehicle may share single subscriberidentification information or network access information that replacesthe subscriber identification information. For example, it can beassumed that a smart phone of the driver is equipped with a SIM cardhaving subscriber identification information and a communication link isformed between the smart phone and various IoT devices mounted in thevehicle. The smart phone may share its subscriber identificationinformation or network access information with the various IoT devicesvia the communication link. In this case, the various IoT devices mayaccess the communication network based on the shared network accessinformation, and exchange information with the sever 2932 over thecommunication network.

In order for the various IoT devices to access the communication networkbased on the shared network access information, scheduling for the usemay be applied. By doing so, it is possible to prevent one subscriberfrom connecting multiple IoT devices to the communication network at thesame time based on the same subscriber identification information.

FIG. 30 schematically illustrates a package of an IoT device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 30, a flexible package device 3000 may correspond toan IoT device 2500 or 2600 shown in FIG. 25 or 26. The flexible packagedevice 3000 may include a flexible package substrate 3010 and first tofifth components 3011 to 3015.

The first component 3011 may include a secure module (e.g., 2620 in FIG.26). In this case, the first component 3011 may be a system-in-package(SiP) on which a processor and a secure element are stacked. The fourthcomponent 3014 and the fifth component 3015 may include an AP, a memoryand/or a storage device. For example, the AP, the memory and/or thestorage device that can be included in the fourth component 3014 and thefifth component 3015 may correspond to the AP 2610, the memory 2614and/or the storage device 2612 shown in FIG. 26, respectively. The thirdcomponent 3013 may include a sensor (e.g., 2632 and/or 2634 in FIG. 26).

At least one of the first to fifth components 3011 to 3015 may be anyone of the communication interface 2626, the actuator 2628, the powersupply 2620 or the passive element (not shown) shown in FIG. 26.

The flexible package substrate 3010 is a flexible printed circuit boardthat can easily be bent and can be employed in a wearable IT device andthe like, and the flexible package substrate 3010 may be an organicsubstrate or a tape substrate. The flexible package substrate 3010 mayinclude, for example, a core board 3002 having upper and lower surfacesand a resin layer 3001 that is formed on the upper and lower surfaces.

The resin layer 3001 may be formed in a multi-layer structure. Betweenthe multi-layer structures may be interposed a signal layer, a groundlayer or a power supply layer constituting a wiring pattern 3003. Aseparate wiring pattern may be formed on the resin layer 3001. In thedrawing, fine patterns shown on the flexible package substrate 3010 maymean the wiring pattern 3003 or multiple passive elements (not shown).

A solder bump 3004 that is one of the means connecting the flexiblepackage substrate 3010 and the components 3011 to 3015 may be added. Anunder ill material 3005 may be inserted around the solder bump 3004. Theunder ill material 3005 may protect the solder bump 3004 from thephysical stress. The flexible package substrate 3010 and the components3011 to 3015 may be connected by a thermal compression bonding methodthat uses the metallic materials, for example, Cu, Au and the like,instead of the solder bump 3004.

The components 3011 to 3015 may each be mounted through an externalconnection member and the like on the flexible package substrate 3010,but not limited thereto. In other words, more semiconductor chips may bemounted on the flexible package substrate 3010, and the semiconductorchips may be vertically stacked on each other using a suitableconnection means in order to reduce the mounting area.

The foregoing is illustrative of embodiments and is not to be construedas limiting thereof. Although a few embodiments have been described,those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modificationsare possible in the embodiments without materially departing from thescope of the inventive concept. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of the inventive concept asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method enabling connection of at least onecommunication service over a public wireless network (PWN) by a slavedevice internally lacking access authorization credentials required toconnect to the at least one communication service, the methodcomprising: connecting a first communication service in a first masterdevice storing first access authorization credentials; generating firstnetwork status information (1NSI) in the first master device associatedwith the connecting of the first communication service; deriving firstnetwork accessing information (1NAI) in a first master device from thefirst access authorization credentials and the 1NSI; establishing afirst communication link between the first master device and slavedevice; connecting a second communication service in a second masterdevice storing second access authorization credentials; generatingsecond network status information (2NSI) in the second master deviceassociated with the connecting of the second communication service;deriving second network accessing information (2NAI) in the secondmaster device from the second access authorization credentials and the2NSI; establishing a second communication link between the second masterdevice and the slave device; sending the 1NAI from the first masterdevice to the slave device via the first communication link and storingthe 1NAI in the slave device; sending the 2NAI from the second masterdevice to the slave device via the second communication link and storingthe 2NAI in the slave device; connecting the first communication servicein the slave device using the 1NAI; and terminating the firstcommunication service in the first master device.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: generating updated 1NAI in the slave deviceduring connection of the first communication service in the slavedevice; and synchronizing the updated 1NAI between the slave device andthe first master device via the first communication link.
 3. The methodof claim 2, further comprising: terminating the second communicationservice in the second master device; receiving data in the slave devicefrom the first communication service; and relaying the data from theslave device to at least two electronic devices including the firstmaster device via the first communication link and the second masterdevice via the second communication link, wherein the at least twoelectronic devices and the slave device support using a commoncommunication service over the PWN.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: connecting the second communication service in the slavedevice using the 2NAI; terminating the second communication service inthe second master device; generating updated 2NAI in the slave deviceduring connection of the second communication service in the slavedevice; and synchronizing the updated 2NAI between the slave device andthe second master device via the second communication link.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein each one of the first communication link andthe second communication link is one of a hard-wired communication linkand a wireless communication link.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving data in the slave device from the firstcommunication service; and relaying the data from the slave device tothe first master device via the first communication link.
 7. A methodfor accessing wireless network, comprising: using subscriberidentification information (SII) stored in a master device to connect acommunication service over a public wireless network (PWN) in the masterdevice; establishing a communication link between the master device anda slave device; generating network access information (NAI) associatedwith the communication service in the master device; sending the NAIfrom the master device to the slave device via the communication link;directly connecting the communication service in the slave device overthe PWN using the NAI, after terminating the connection of thecommunication service in the master device, generating and storingupdated NSI in the slave device in accordance with the connection of thecommunication service in the slave device; sending the updated NSI tothe master device via the communication link; and updating the NSIstored in the master device with the updated NSI.
 8. The method of claim7, further comprising: terminating the connection of the communicationservice over the PWN in the master device.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein connecting the communication service in the master devicegenerates corresponding network status information (NSI), and the NAIcomprises the NSI, the method further comprising: storing the NSI in themaster device before terminating the connection of the communicationservice in the master device, and storing the NSI in the slave devicewhen the NAI is sent from the master device to the slave device.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the NSI comprises at least one of: PWN cellidentification information, radio resource control (RRC) statusinformation, non-access stratum (NAS) status information, and subscribertracking area (TA) information.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein themaster device is a portable electronic device, the communication serviceis a cellular voice/data service, and the connecting of thecommunication service in the master device comprises registering themaster device with a mobility management entity (MME) of the PWN. 12.The method of claim 7, further comprising: connecting a subscriberidentity module (SIM) in the master device, reading the SII from theSIM, and storing the SII in the master device, wherein the SII comprisesa plurality of SII components and the NAI comprises at least one of theplurality of SII components, or information derived from at least one ofthe plurality of SII components, and wherein the NAI comprises atemporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) provided to the masterdevice from the PWN upon connecting the communication service in themaster device.
 13. The method of claim 7, wherein the SII comprises atleast one of: a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI), a globallyunique temporary identifier (GUTI), an integrated circuit cardidentification (ICCID), an international mobile subscriber identity(IMSI), and a master key (K).
 14. The method of claim 7, wherein thecommunication link comprises at least one of local area network (LAN),Wi-Fi, near field communication (NFC), radio frequency (RF), wiredcommunication, a cellular link, Bluetooth (BT), and a global positioningsystem (GPS).
 15. A method enabling connection of a communicationservice over a public wireless network (PWN) by a slave deviceinternally lacking access authorization credentials required to connectthe communication service, the method comprising: connecting thecommunication service in a master device storing the accessauthorization credentials; generating network status information (NSI)in the master device associated with the connecting of the communicationservice; deriving network access information (NAI) in the master devicefrom the access authorization credentials and the NSI; establishing acommunication link between the master device and slave device; sendingthe NAI from the master device to the slave device via the communicationlink; connecting the communication service in the slave device using theNAI; terminating the communication service in the master device;generating updated NAI in the slave device during connection of thecommunication service in the slave device; and synchronizing the updatedNAI between the slave device and the master device via the communicationlink, wherein the synchronizing of the updated NAI occurs eitherperiodically or in response to an event.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the event is one selected from a group consisting of: aninter-cell handover, a change in cell identification information, achange in TMSI, a change in physical proximity between the master deviceand slave device, a change in a power condition for one of the masterdevice and the slave device, and a change in communication linkconnectivity between the master device and the slave device.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: receiving data in the slavedevice via the PWN during connection of the communication service by theslave device; relaying the data from the slave device to the masterdevice via the communication link; and upon re-connecting thecommunication service in the master device over the PWN using theupdated NAI, maintaining coherency of the data in the master device asrelayed from the slave device.
 18. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: receiving data in the slave device from the master devicevia the communication link; and relaying the data from the slave deviceto another device via a communication link.